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AN ILLUSTRATED MANUAL

BRITISH BIRDS.

HOWARD SAUNDERS, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c.

EDITOR OF THE THIRD AND FOURTH VOLUMES OF “YARRELL’S HISTORY OF
BRITISH BIRDS," FOURTH EDITION.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS OF NEARLY EVERY SPECIES.

LONDON :

GURNEY AND JACKSON, i, PATERNOSTER ROW.

(Successors to Mr. Van Voorst.)

1889.

LONDON :

PRINTED BY WOODFALL AND KINDER,
70 TO 76, LONG ACRE, W.C.

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PREFACE.

The plan of a work in which exactly two pages are devoted to
each species, may justly be called Procrustean ; and, unfortunately
for the author, the limited space at his disposal has often been en-
croached upon owing to the length of an engraving, whereas exten-
sion of the text has rarely been called for. Little idea, lor instance, can
be formed of the labour involved in an article like that on the Cross-
bill, wherein the necessary consideration of the distinctive features of
several local races increased the difficulty of sketching briefly the
history of a remarkable bird. In this and similar cases, when four
lines in excess meant as many hours of hard work in condensing, the
writer has sometimes been tempted — in the interest of his readers
as well as in his own — to deviate from the original scheme \ yet any
such concession must necessarily have led to an increase in the bulk t
and the expense of the work. Even now, the low price is
due to the fact that the publishers own the blocks from which the
illustrations were struck for the four editions of Yarrell’s ‘ British
Birds ’ ; though to these have been added wood-cuts of many
recent wanderers to Great Britain, such as the Isabelline, Black-
throated and Desert Wheatears, the Barred Warbler, Wall-Creeper,
Needle-tailed Swift, Lesser Kestrel, Killdeer and Sociable Plovers,
and Mediterranean Black-headed Gull ; while fresh engravings have
taken the place of the unsatisfactory originals of the Marsh-Harrier,
Gos-Hawk, Merlin and Great Auk. Great liberality has also been
shown by the publishers in placing no restriction on alterations
whenever the slightest improvement was thereby attainable. For
example, a scrap of information, obtained by mere chance, led to the
re-writing of the article on the Blue-throat at the last moment, and
that too for reasons which nine in ten of my readers might, perhaps,
consider inadequate ; the tenth, however, would appreciate the need
for strict accuracy, and it is his intelligent approbation that I have
striven to deserve.

PREFACE.

Three Maps have been added, as likely to be of use for reference,
especially to the traveller. The first of these shows the comparative
elevation of the land in the United Kingdom and the depth of the
surrounding seas ; and, although on a small scale, it will serve as a
guide to the relative positions of the various groups of islands,
respecting some of which rather vague ideas appear to be enter-
tained. It may also remind the reader that, owing to the indenta-
tions of our coast, very few places in the British Islands are fifty
miles distant in a straight line from tidal or brackish water : a fact
which exercises an important influence on our climate — and conse-
quently on our bird-life — during the winter months, and may well be
contrasted with the conditions prevailing over Continental areas.
The North Polar Chart will, I trust, be of assistance in estimating the
range of the birds which breed in the Arctic regions. As regards or-
thography, I have persistently run counter to custom in two instances
—Bering for Behring and Spitsbergen for Spitzbergen, for the fol-
lowing reasons. Vitus Bering was a Dane, born in Jutland about
1680, and the discoveries which have immortalized him were made
when in the service of Russia ; while Spitsbergen was so written by
the Dutch, who were the first to give an account of that island.
It seems undesirable to disguise the above facts by copying the

spelling of German cartographers.

The study of Migration is now pursued throughout the civilized
world, and has already become surrounded by a literature of its own,
far too voluminous for notice here ; indeed we are now overwhelmed
with plausible theories out of all proportion to the scanty amount of
solid facts accumulated. Meanwhile it is satisfactory to note the
great interest that has been awakened among the keepers of our
lighthouses and lightships, owing to the publication of their sched-
ules in the annual Migration Reports, which have been drawn up
by a Committee of the British Association for the last ten years ;
and through them considerable addition has already been made
to our knowledge of the habits of wandering species as well as to
that of the regular lines of flight adopted by birds in general.
The impetus given to this study by the researches of Mr. H. Gatke
of Heligoland cannot be over-estimated, and some valuable papers
by various authors have appeared during the last five years in the
Austro-Hungarian ‘ Ornis.’

The birds considered as British in this work are 367 in number,
exclusive of several forms — duly noticed — respecting which there
are conflicting opinions. The species which have been ascertained
to breed within the United Kingdom during the present centur)

PREFACE.

may be taken as 200; about 70 non-breeding wanderers have
occurred fewer than six times, and 59 others are more or less
infrequent visitors ; while 38 species annually make their appear-
ance on migration or during the colder months, in some portion of
our long, narrow group of islands or the surrounding waters.

Owing to the necessity of compression I have had frequent occa-
sion to regret the impossibility of mentioning the names of man>
authorities for much and varied information, and even now I fear that
some may have been accidentally omitted. My thanks-which can-
not be apportioned-are rendered to Lt.-Col. H. M. Drummond-Hay,
Col. H. W. Feilden, Lt.-Col. Irby, the Lord Lilford, the Rev. H. A.
Macpherson, Professor Newton, Sir John W. P. Campbell Orde, Col.
E. Delm6 Radcliffe, Capt. S. G. Reid, Messrs. Aplin, R. M. Barring-
ton, E. Bidwell, G. Bolam, E. Booth, Abel and A. C. Chapman, W.
Eagle Clarke, John Cordeaux, H. E. Dresser, Henry Evans (Derby),
William Evans (Edinburgh), H. Gatke, J. H. Gurney jun., J. E.
Harting, R. J. Howard, A. G. More, E. C. Phillips, W. H. St.
Quintin, H. Seebohm, R. Service (Dumfries), G. Sim (Aberdeen),
R. Bowdler Sharpe, Cecil Smith, Thomas Southwell, R. J. Ussher,
Robert Warren, and John Young ; while, in addition to providing
many details respecting distribution, Messrs. Harvie-Brown and
Buckley (through their courteous publisher, Mr. D. Douglas of
Edinburgh) allowed me the great advantage of consulting the
advance-sheets of their ‘ Fauna of the Outer Hebrides.’ Beyond
all, I am indebted to Mr. A. H. Evans of Cambridge, who has gone
over the proof-sheets, arguing and threshing-out points on which
our experiences differed, suggesting alterations in phraseology, and
rendering infinite assistance. In a work of the present nature an
author is necessarily indebted in no small degree to the experiences
of others ; and, far from captiously criticizing the writings of prede-
cessors, each successive compiler should remember how much is due
to previous and often unacknowledged labours.

H. S.

7 , Radnor Place, Hyde Park, IV .

14M October, 1889.

INTRODUCTION.

The scientific arrangement followed in this work is mainly in
accordance with that of ‘ The List of British Birds compiled by a
Committee of the British Ornithologists’ Union,’ in which again
the sequence is almost identical with that in Mr. Dresser’s ‘ Birds
of Europe.’ There may be differences of opinion respecting the
relative position of some of the Families which make up the Order
Passeres, but nearly all modern systematists in Europe and America
are agreed that the highest avian development is attained in that
Order ; the Passeres therefore— being the most specialized of birds
— should occupy the first place in a descending arrangement (such as
the one set forth by Mr. P. L. Sclater in ‘The Ibis’ for 1880 and
widely adopted in the Old World), or the last in a scheme of ascension
from the lowest and most reptilian birds (which finds favour in the
United States). As regards the Order Accipitres — which formerly
headed the list — there is strong evidence of its affinity with the
Herodiones, and any wide separation of the Vultures from the
Storks appears to be inconsistent with the teachings of modern
anatomical research ; whereas, by following the highly-sanctioned
scheme of commencing with the Passeres, we at least make some
approach to uniformity of system. To that end I have subordinated
my own views to those of the majority of the B.O.U. Committee
respecting the positions of the Alaudidae and the Corvidae in that
Order, as well as on some other unessential points.*

* A large portion of a notice of Pts. i.-iv. in ‘The Zoologist’ is devoted to
calling me to account for having departed from the arrangement adopted in the
4th Edition of 1 Yarrell ’ ; though the writer must have been well aware that the
above work — commenced in 1871 — did not reach my hands until the latter part
of 1882, and that, as editor, I was in a great measure constrained to follow the
order adopted by the original author. On the other hand, a very competent
critic of my portion of ‘Yarrell,’ while admitting the difficulties of the position,
contended — in ‘ Nature ’ — that I ought to have boldly followed up the Picaria:
with the Steganopodes, Herodiones and Anseres, instead of the Columbse !

INTRODUCTION.

It must be remembered that this work is merely a Manual,
intended to convey as much information up to date as may be
practicable in one volume ; and it would be foreign to my purpose
to increase its bulk by a treatise on the Orders and Families
of Birds : the characteristics of the Genera nevertheless are given
at some length below, although as briefly as is consistent with
lucidity. The beginner will, however, do well to bear in mind that
although systematists maybe fairly agreed as regards the components
of the Orders and Families, much diversity of opinion exists respect-
ing the validity of many of the Genera which have been proposed
and even adopted ; nor is this surprising, for, after all, a generic
name is mainly — and often purely — a matter of convenience.
According to the Rules for Nomenclature — known as the Strick-
landian Code — a genus should be based upon some structural
character, but pattern of coloration, general habits &c. have often
been allowed to carry weight when anatomical distinctions have
proved insufficient to attain the desired end.

The plan of giving a systematic sketch of the Genera in an
Introduction, and not in the body of the work, was suggested by
the Rev. C. A. Johns’ ‘British Birds in their Haunts,’ an excellent
treatise on our commoner species at the time of its publication
(1867), though now out of date.

Order PASSERES.

Family TURDID/E.

Subfamily Turdin/E.

(Young in first plumage differ from adults in having the upper and under parts
spotted.)

Turdus, Linncrus. — Bill moderate, straight, convex above ; point of the upper
mandible compressed, notched and slightly decurved ; gape furnished with a
few hairs. Nostrils basal, lateral, oval, partly closed by a membrane.
Wings with the first or ‘ bastard ’ quill very short ; the second shorter than
the third or fourth, which are generally the longest. Tail rather long.
Tarsus longer than the middle toe ; outer toe connected with the middle toe
at the base (p. 1).

Monticola, F. Boie.—m\ stout, straight, the ridge arched towards the point;
gape almost hairless. Nostrils basal, round, partly covered with hairs.
Wings moderate ; the first quill short, the second a little shorter than the
third, which is longest. Feet moderately stout. Tail short and even (p. 17).

INTRODUCTION.

Saxicola, Bechstein. — Bill straight, broad at the base ; the upper mandible re-
ceding towards the forehead, compressed towards the tip, which is decurved
and more or less indented. Nostrils basal, supernal and oval. Gape with
a few hairs. Wings with the first quill very short, the third or fourth the
longest; coverts and scapulars short. Tarsus long, coveied in fiont by one
long scale, to which succeed two or three shorter scutellce ; the outer toe
partly united to the middle toe ; hind claw short, strong and curved (p. 19).

Pratincola, K. L. Koch.— Bill shorter and broader than in Saxicola ; bristles
at the gape strongly developed. Wings and tail rather shoit (p. 27).

Ruticilla, C. L. Brehm.— Bill slender, compressed towards the point, a little
deflected and very slightly emarginated ; gape with tolerably large bristles.
Nostrils basal, supernal and nearly round. Wings moderate ; the Inst qui
short ; the second equal to the sixth ; the third, fourth and fifth, nearly equal,
and one of them the longest. Legs slender, the tarsus longer than the middle
toe, and covered in front by a single scale and three inferior scutellce (p. j1)*

Cyanecula, C. L. Brehm. — Differs from the above in having few and, small
bristles at the gape, four inferior scutellce on the tarsus, and a short middle
toe. Practically this genus is based on the blue colour of the thioat, and
upon the desirability of separating the members of this little group from the
Redstarts (p. 35).

Erithacus, G. Cuvier. — Bill narrow and depressed at the base, inflected towards
the point, the upper mandible slightly notched. Nostrils basal, lateral and
oval. Wings rounded ; the first quill only half as long as the second, which
is shorter than the third ; the fourth, fifth and sixth nearly equal and
longest. Legs long and slender ; the tarsi with a single scale in front and
three inferior scutellce; the outer toe a little longer than the inner, and united
at its base to the middle toe ; the hind toe longer and stronger than the others.
Plumage generally soft (p. 37).

Daulias, F. Boie. — Bill moderate, straight ; the tip slightly deflected and cmar-
ginated. Nostrils basal, supernal and round. Wings moderate ; the first
quill very short, the second longer than the fifth, the third the longest in the
wing. Tail rounded. Tarsus long and slender, covered in front by a single
scale and four inferior scutellce ; toes long ; claws rather short (p. 39)-

Subfamily Sylviin/E.

(Young on leaving the nest differ very slightly in colour from the adults.)

Sylvia, Scopoli.— Bill rather stout, short, not very broad at base ; upper man-
dible decurved from the middle towards the point, which is slightly emar-
ginated ; nostrils basal, lateral, oval and exposed ; gape furnished with
bristles. Wings moderate ; the first quill very short. Tail of twelve feathers,
generally rounded. Legs with the tarsus scaled in front and longer than
the middle toe ; toes and claws short (p. 41).

Regulus, G. Cuvier. — Bill slender, straight, the edges dilated at the base, com-
pressed towards the point, which is notched. Nostrils basal, supernal and
oval, covered by a single bristly feather directed forwards ; the internasal
ridge stout; the gape beset with hairs. Wings rather long; the first quill
nearly half the length of the second, the fourth the longest. Tail of twelve
pointed feathers, slightly forked. Tarsus slender and rather long, covered

INTRODUCTION.

in front by a single scale ; toes moderate, the outer and middle toes
joined at their base ; claws much curved (p. 55).

Phylloscopus, F. Boh’. — Bill slender, rather short, upper mandible decurved
from the middle and compressed towards the tip, which is very slightly
notched ; nostrils basal, lateral, oblong and partly operculate, the membrane
clothed with small bristle-tipped feathers, the internasal ridge very thin ;
gape beset with hairs. Wings rather long ; the first quill comparatively
large, the third or fourth being the longest. Tail of twelve feathers, slightly
forked. Tarsus scaled in front and rather long, as are also the toes ; claws
curved (p. 59).

AlsDON, F. Boh. — Bill long and strong, with the culmen curved and much com-
pressed at the tip, hardly notched ; nostrils supernal, small and oval ; the
gape without bristles. Wings with the first quill short, the second nearly
equal to the third and fourth, which are longest. Tail long and rounded.
Tarsi long, with broad scales in front ; toes short, the inner nearly as long
as the outer ; claws small (p. 67).

Hypo’lais, C. L. Brehm. — Bill stout, very wide at the base, the edges straight,
somewhat compressed towards the tip, which is slightly emarginated. Nostrils
basal, oblique, oval and exposed. Wings rather long and pointed, the first
quill very short, the third usually the longest. Tail moderate ; rounded,
square, or slightly forked. Tarsi short ; feet small ; the claws short but
much curved (p. 69).

Ackocephalus, J. A. Naamann. — Bill more or less straight, with the culmen
elevated, wide at the base, compressed towards the lip, and slightly cmar-
ginated ; the edges of the lower mandible inflected ; nostrils basal, oblique,
oval and exposed ; bristles at the gape moderately developed. Forehead
narrow and depressed. Wings rather short ; the first quill minute, the

third generally longest. Tail rounded and rather long. Legs long; feet
large and stout, the hind toe strong ; claws long and moderately curved
(P- 70-

Locustella, Kattp. — Differs from the above chiefly in having a more rounded
tail and longer under tail-coverts. Prof. Newton states that the tendons
of the tibial muscles are strongly ossified in this genus (p. St).

Subfamily Accentorin'/E.

Accentor, Bechstdn. — Bill strong, broad at the base, rather conical ; the upper
mandible overlapping the lower and slightly notched near the tip. Nostrils
basal, oblique and linear. Wings moderate, more or less rounded ; the first
feather very short, the third generally the longest. Legs strong; the tarsi
feathered at the upper end, and covered in front with several broad scales ;
the outer toe joined at its base to the middle toe ; the claw of the hind toe
much the longest (p. 85).

Family CINCLIDAi.

ClNCI.US, Bechstdn. — Bill moderate, slightly ascending, angular and higher than
broad at the base ; straight, compressed and rounded near the tip ; the upper
mandible slightly decurving at the point. Nostrils basal, lateral, placed
in a depression, cleft longitudinally, partly covered by a membrane. Gape

INTRODUCTION.

XUl

very narrow, and without bristles. Wings short, broad and convex ; the first
quill very short; the second not so long as the third or fourth, which are
nearly equal. Tail short. Legs feathered to the tibio-tarsal joint ; tarsus
longer than the middle toe : the lateral toes equal in length, the outer toe
slightly connected with the middle toe. The whole body closely covered
with down. Sternum with the posterior margin entire (p. 89).

Family PANURID.-E.

Panurus, K. L. Koch.— Bill short, subconical, upper mandible convex above,
decurved from the base, broader and considerably longer than the lower,
which is almost straight; the edges of both somewhat inflected and not
notched. Nostrils basal, oval, pointed in front and partly covered by re-
flected bristly feathers. Wings with ten quills, the first almost obsolete, the
third longest, but the fourth and fifth nearly equal to it. Tail very long and
much graduated. Tarsus long and scutellated in front ; feet stout ; claws not
much hooked (p. 91).

Family PARI D sE.

Acredula, A: I.. Koch. — Bill very short, strong, much compressed, both man-
dibles curved, the upper considerably longer than the lower. Nostrils basal,
round, concealed by the plumage. Eyelids with broad bare margins. Wings
with ten quills, gradually increasing in length to the fourth and fifth, which
are the longest. Tail very long, narrow and graduated, the outer feathers
being only °about one-third of the length of the middle pair. Tarsus long
and scutellated ; feet moderate ; the anterior toes united to the second joint,
the outer toe longer than the inner, the hind toe stout and armed \\ ilh a long
hooked claw (p. 93).

Parus, Linnccus— Pill strong, straight, rather conical, slightly compressed, upper
mandible hardly longer than the lower and not notched. Nostrils basal,
round, covered with reflected bristly feathers. Wings with ten quills, the
first short, the fourth or fifth the longest. Tail moderate, even or slightly
rounded. Tarsus moderate and scutellated; feet strong ; toes as in preceding

genus (p. 95)-

Family SITTID/E.

Sitta, Linnccus. — Bill moderate, strong, and slightly conical, the lower mandible
ascending from the angle to the point. Tongue short and horny, the tip
abrupt and furnished with strong bristles. Nostrils basal, rounded, placed
in a deep hollow, covered by hairs and short feathers. Wings rather long;
the first quill much shorter than the second, the fourth or fifth the longest.
Tail short, flexible, broad and nearly square. Legs short and stout, the
tarsi scutellated ; toes long and strong— the hind toe especially, the outer toe
joined at its base to the middle toe ; claws large and much hooked (p. 105).

Family TROGLODYTID/E.

Troglodytes, Vicillot. — Bill moderate, compressed, slightly curved, without
any notch, and pointed. Nostrils basal, oval, partly covered by a membrane.
Wings very short, concave, rounded ; the first quill rather short, the fourth
or fifth the longest. Tail generally short ; its feathers soft and rounded.
Tarsus lather long and strong ; the middle toe united at the base to the

XIV

INTRODUCTION.

outer toe, but not to the inner toe ; hind toe rather long ; claws long, stout
and curved. Plumage long and soft (p. 107).

Family CERTIIIID/E.

Certhia, Linncous. — Bill rather long, slender, compressed, curved downwards
and pointed ; nostrils basal, lateral, elongated and partly covered by a mem-
brane. Wings moderate and rounded ; the first feather short, the fourth and
fifth longest. Tail of twelve feathers, long, stiff, pointed, and slightly curved
downwards. Feet large, the tarsus slender ; the fore toes long and united at
the base as far as the first joint, their claws moderate but much curved ; the
hind toe short, but with a long curved claw. Plumage soft and thick,
especially above (p. 109).

Tichodroma, Illiger. — Bill long, slender, slightly decurvedand pointed; nostrils
elongated. Wings long and broad. Tail of twelve rounded feathers, and
square in shape. Tarsi rather slender ; toes long ; claws much curved,
especially the long hind claw (p. hi).

Family MOTACILLID/E.

Motacilla, Liniueus. — Bill slender, nearly straight, very slightly notched at
the tip ; the mandibles nearly equal in length and their edges slightly com-
pressed inwards. Nostrils basal, lateral, oval and partly concealed by a
membrane. Wings moderate ; the first quill acuminate and nearly obsolete,
the second, third and fourth nearly equal and one of them the longest, the
fifth considerably shorter ; inner secondaries very long, one of them about
equal to the fifth primary. Tail of twelve feathers, long and nearly even.
Tarsus scutellated in front, much longer than the middle toe, which is joined
to the outer toe at its base ; toes moderate ; claws short, except that of the
hind toe which is somewhat elongated (p. 113).

Anthus, Bech stein Bill and nostrils as in the above genus. Wings moderate ;

the first primary acuminate and nearly obsolete, the second, third and fourth
nearly equal and one of them the longest, the fifth in some species almost
as long ; outer secondaries short, inner secondaries very long, equal to or
occasionally exceeding the fifth primary. Tail of twelve feathers, moderate
and slightly forked. Tarsus scutellated in front, about as long as the middle
toe, which is joined to the outer toe at its base; toes rather long ; claws
moderate, except that of the hind toe which in some species is very much
elongated (p. 123).

Family ORIOLID/E.

Oriolus, I.i mucus. — Bill moderately long, conical and decurving to the point
which is notched ; nostrils basal, lateral, naked, pierced horizontally in an
extended membrane. Wings long ; the first quill much shorter than the
second ; the third the longest. Tail moderate, slightly rounded. Tarsi
covered in front with broad plates ; toes with large scutella: ; claws arched,
and laterally grooved (p. 137).

Family LANIIDiE.

Lanius, Linnceus. — Bill short, thick and straight at the base, compressed; upper
mandible hooked at the point, with a prominent tooth ; base of the bill beset
with hairs directed forwards. Nostrils basal, lateral, oval. Wings of moder-
ate size ; the first quill shorter than the second, the third usually the longest.
Tarsus longer than the middle toe, which is united at its base to the outer
toe (p. 139).

INTRODUCTION.

Family AM 1’ELID/E.

Ampelis, Linnceus. — Bill strong, short and straight; broad at the base; both
mandibles slightly hooked at the tip, and the upper one notched. Gape
wide, without bristles. Nostrils basal, oval and large, partly concealed by
closely-set feathers directed forwards. Feathers of the head forming an
elongated erectile crest. Wings long, with ten primaries, the first very
minute, the second the longest, but the third nearly equal to it. Tail short
and almost even. Tarsus scutellated in front, and shorter than the middle
toe with its claw ; toes stout. Plumage very soft (p. 147).

Family MUSCICAPID/E.

Muscicapa, Linnceus. — Bill of moderate length, broad and depressed at the
base ; compressed and slightly curved towards the point. Nostrils basal,
lateral, and partly concealed by the frontal plumes. Gape beset with bristles.
Wings long and pointed ; the first primary very short, the second rather
shorter than the third, fourth and fifth, which are the longest in the wing.
Feet small, the tarsus about the same length as the middle toe, which is
much longer than the lateral toes (p. 149).

Family HIRUNDINID/E.

(Wings with nine primaries, long and pointed.)

Hirundo, Linnceus. — Bill short, depressed, and very wide at the base, com-
missure straight. Nostrils basal, oval, partly closed by a membrane. Tail
deeply forked, of twelve feathers, the outermost greatly elongated and
abruptly attenuated. Legs and feet slender and bare ; toes rather long,
three in front, one behind ; claws moderate (p. 155).

Chelidon, F. Boie. — Bill short, depressed, and very wide at the base, com-
missure slightly decurved. Nostrils basal, oval, partly closed by a mem-
brane and opening laterally. Tail forked, of twelve feathers, the outermost
not abruptly attenuated. Legs and feet slender, closely feathered above, toes
rather long, three in front, one behind ; claws moderate, sharp (p. 157).

Cotile, F. Boie. — Bill short, depressed, and very wide at the base, commissure
straight. Nostrils, wings and tail as above. Legs and feet slender, and bare
except a tuft of feathers on the tarsus just above the hallux ; toes moderate,
three in front, one behind ; claws strong (p. 159).

Family FRINGILL1D/E.

Subfamily Fringillin/e.

Ligurinus, K. L. Koch. — Bill hard, short, conical, compressed towards the tip,
with a scarcely perceptible notch at the point ; nostrils basal, concealed by
stiff feathers directed forwards ; wings rather pointed, the first quill obsolete,
the second, third and fourth nearly equal and the longest. Tail rather short,
slightly forked. Tarsus scutellate in front; toes moderate; claws arched and
laterally grooved (p. 161).

Coccothraustes, Brisson. — Bill nearly conical, very thick at the base, tapering
rapidly to the point ; culmen more or less rounded ; the mandibles nearly
equal, edges inflected and slightly indented. Nostrils basal, lateral, oval,
nearly hidden by projecting and recurved frontal plumes. Wings with the

XVI

INTRODUCTION.

first quill obsolete, the third and fourth primaries nearly equal, the sixth,
seventh, and eighth curved outwards. Tail short, and nearly square.
1 arsus scutellate in front, covered at the sides with a single plate, stout and
short ; claws moderately curved, rather short and strong (p. 163).

Carduelis, Brisson. — Bill nearly conical but slightly compressed, the point
slender and sharp. Nostrils basal, lateral, round, and hidden by projecting
and recurved plumes. Wings rather long and pointed ; the first primary
obsolete ; the second, third, and fourth nearly equal, but the second the
longest. Tail more or less moderate, and forked. Tarsus short and rather
stout, scutellate in front, covered at the side by a single plate ; claws moder-
ate (p. 165).

Chrysomitris, F. Boie. — Bill rather attenuated, tapering to an acute point.
Nostrils concealed by short stiff feathers directed forward. Wings rather long
and pointed, the second quill being slightly the longest. Tail rather short
and forked. Tarsus slender ; toes covered in front with four plates and three
inferior scutellae ; claws moderate, curved and acute. Plumage soft, the
predominant colour being greenish-yellow (p. 167).

Serinus, K. L. Koch. — Bill strong, short, somewhat conical, but very broad at
the base and with the distal half suddenly diminishing to the tip ; mandibles
nearly equal in size, but the upper a little longer than the lower ; edges
plain. Nostrils basal, supernal, round and hidden by projecting and re-
curved frontal plumes. Gape straight. Wings with the first primary so
small as to seem wanting ; the second, third and fourth nearly equal, but the
third a trifle the longest. Tail moderate, rather deeply forked. Tarsus
slender, and shorter than the middle toe, scutellate in front, covered at the
side by a single plate ; claws small and rather weak (p. 169).

Passer, Brisson. — Bill somewhat conical, but bulging above and below, longer
than deep ; upper mandible larger than the lower, edges nearly plain. Nostrils
basal, lateral, rounded, almost hidden by projecting and recurved frontal
plumes. Gape straight. Wings with the first primary small and attenuated
but distinctly developed, the third or fourth rather the longest, but the
second, third and fourth — sometimes even the fifth — are not very unequal.
Tail moderate or short, and nearly square. Tarsus stout, nearly as long
as the middle toe, scutellate in front, covered at the sides by a single plate ;
claws moderately curved, rather short (p. 1 71).

Fringilla, Linnceus. — Bill hard, straight, somewhat long, nearly conical, but
bulging slightly and pointed ; mandibles nearly equal, edges plain. Nostrils
basal, lateral, oval, partly hidden by projecting and recurved frontal plumes.
Gape straight. Wings with the first primary obsolete, the second always
shorter than the third, which or the fourth is longest in the wing. Tail
moderately long and decidedly forked. Tarsus stout, shortish, scutellate in
front, covered at the sides with a single plate ; claws moderately curved,
rather short (p. 175).

Acanthis, Bechstein. — Bill hard, nearly conical, but slightly swollen ; the point
slender and sharp. Nostrils basal, round, and hidden more or less by pro-
jecting and recurved plumes. Gape nearly straight. Wings long, somewhat
pointed ; the first primary obsolete, the second, third, and fourth nearly
equal, and either the second or third the longest in the wing. Tail rather
long and forked. Legs short ; the tarsus scutellate in front, covered at the
side by a single plate ; toes stout ; claws moderate, the hind claw rather large
(P- 179)-

INTRODUCTION.

XVU

Pyrrhula, Brisson. — Bill hard, short, broad and thick at the base, bulging at
the sides ; culmen rounded ; upper mandible considerably longer than the
lower, and overhanging its point. Nostrils basal, round, hidden by plume-
lets. Gape slightly arched. Wings rather short ; the first primary
obsolete, the third or fifth the longest in the wing. Tail moderate, square
or forked. Tarsus scutellate in front, covered at the sides by a single plate,
stout ; claws moderately curved, rather short (p. 187).

Loxia, Linncetts. — Bill hard, strong, thick at the base, much compressed towards
the tip, the lower mandible curving upwards and its point crossing that of
the upper mandible. .Nostrils round, basal, hidden by thick projecting
bristly plumes. Wings long, pointed ; the first primary very small but
visible, the second generally the longest. Tail short, forked. Tarsus short
and stout, scutellate in front ; toes short ; claws moderately curved (p. 193).

Subfamily Emberizin,®.

Emberiza, Linnaeus. — Bill hard, conical and short ; the upper mandible not
wider than the lower, the edges of both inflected and those of the latter
gradually cut away (sinuated) ; the palate generally furnished with a project-
ing bony knob. Nostrils oval, basal and placed somewhat near the culmen,
partly hidden by small' feathers. Gape angular. Wings moderate ; first
primary obsolete, second, third and fourth nearly equal. Tail rather long
and slightly forked. Tarsus scutellate in front, covered at the sides with an
undivided plate forming a sharp ridge behind, almost as long as the middle
toe ; claws considerably curved, that of the hind toe of moderate length
(p. 197).

Calcarius, Bechstein. — Bill with considerably inflected cutting edges (tomia) ;
claws of the front toes short and slightly curved ; hind claw nearly straight
and elongated ; other characters much as in the next genus (p. 213).

Plectrophenax, Stcjncger. * — Bill hard, conical and short; the upper mandi-
ble narrower than the lower, the edges of both inflected and those of the
latter sinuated ; the palate furnished with a projecting bony knob. Nostrils
oval, basal, and placed somewhat near the culmen, nearly hidden by small
feathers. Gape angular. Wings long and pointed ; the first primary obso-
lete, second and third nearly equal and the longest in the wing, but the
fourth considerably longer than the fifth. Tail moderate and slightly
forked. Tarsus scutellate in front, covered at the sides with an undivided
plate forming a sharp ridge behind about as long as the middle toe. Front
claws rather long and curved ; hind claw considerably curved and elongated
(p. 215).

Family STURNID^E.

Sturnus, Linnceus. — Bill as long as the head, almost straight, blunt at the tip,
depressed so as to be wider than high ; edges of the upper mandible extend-
ing over those of the lower, and both quite smooth. Nostrils basal and partly
overlaid by an operculum. Gape angular and free from bristles. Feathers

* Dr. Stejneger has shown that the genus Pleclrophanes was instituted by B. Meyer for the

Lapland Bunting, and that, consequently, as a mere equivalent of Calcarius, it cannot be cor-

rectly employed for the Snow-Bunting.

xvm

INTRODUCTION.

of the head and anterior part of the body pointed and elongated. Wings
long, pointed, with ten primaries ; the first minute and attenuated, the second
and third nearly equal and the longest. Tail short, the feathers diverging at
the tip. Tarsus scutellate in front covered at the side by an undivided plate,
forming a sharp ridge behind ; claws short and moderately curved (p. 217).

Pastor, Temminck.—M ill moderate, convex above, straight beneath, compressed,
the upper mandible notched and slightly decurved. Nostrils basal, partly
closed by a membrane covered with small feathers. Feathers on the crown
pointed and elongated, forming a crest. Wings as above. Tail moderate,
the feathers mostly rounded at the tips. Tarsus scutellate in front, covered
at the sides by an indistinctly divided plate, forming a sharp ridge behind ,
claws rather more curved than in Sturnus (p. 219).

Family CORVIDS.

Pyrrhocorax, Tunstall. — Beak hard, slender, compressed, arched, and pointed.
Nostrils basal, hidden by small, closely-set feathers. Wings long and gradu-
ated ; the first primary- much shorter than the second, and about half as long
as the third, the fourth the longest. Tail nearly even. Feet strong ; tarsus
longer than the middle toe, to which the outer toe is united as far as its first
joint; claws strong and much curved (p. 221).

NuciFRAGA, Brisson. — Beak about as long as the head, hard, stout and straight,
dilated at the base ; both mandibles terminating obtusely, the maxilla pro-
longed and slightly depressed at the tip. Nostrils basal, round, hidden by
stiff feathers directed forwards. Feathers of the crown short. Wings
graduated, the fifth primary being the longest. Tail slightly rounded. Feet
stout ; tarsus longer than the middle toe, to which the outer toe is united at
the base ; claws stout, curved and sharp (p. 223).

Garrulus, Brisson.— Beak shorter than the head, hard, stout and compressed,
straight at the base, sharp at the edges, commissure straight. Nostrils basal,
hidden by stiff feathers directed forwards. Feathers of the crown long and
erectile. Wings moderate, rounded ; the first primary short and not attenu-
ated the fourth, fifth and sixth nearly equal and one of them the longest in
the 'wing. Tail moderately long and rounded. Feet strong, tarsus longer
than the middle toe, to which the outer toe is united at its base ; claws
stout, curved and sharp (p. 225).

Pica Brisson— Beak stout and compressed, straight at the base, arched towards
^he point, sharp at the edges, and slightly notched near the tip of the upper
mandible. Nostrils basal, hidden by stiff feathers directed forward Wings
short and rounded ; the first primary attenuated for two-thirds of ‘ts length
and very short, the fourth or fifth the longest. Tail very long and graduated.
Feet strong ; tarsus longer than the middle toe, to which the outer toe is
united as far as its first joint ; claws curved and sharp (p. 227).

Corvus Lintueus. — Beak hard, stout, compressed, straight at the base, arched
C .he point and sharp a. .he edges. Nos.nls basal, 1-^

by stiff feathers directed forwards. Wings long and graduated, the fist
n rimary much shorter than the second, but more than half as long as
fhhd the fourth the longest. Tail more or less graduated. Feet strong ,
££ longer than the middle toe, to which the outer toe is united as far as
its first joint ; claws strong, curved and sharp (p. 229).

INTRODUCTION.

XIX

Family ALAUDID-E.

Alauda, Limusus.— Bill moderate, slightly compressed at the edges ; upper
mandible more or less arched from the middle and without notch. Nostrils
basal, oval, covered by bristly feathers directed forward. Gape straight.
Wings long : first primary short but unmistakably developed ; second, third
and fourth nearly equal, but the third longest. Tail moderate and slightly
forked. Tarsus blunt and scutellated behind as well as before, longer than
the middle toe ; claws slightly curved and moderate, except that of the hind
toe, which is generally elongated and nearly straight (p. 239).

Otocorys, Bonaparte.— Bill rather short, subconic ; upper mandible slightly
arched and without notch. Head — in the adult male — with a tuft of long,
erectile feathers on either side of the occiput. Wings long ; the first primary
so small as at first sight to seem wanting, the second the longest but the
third nearly its equal, the fourth decidedly shorter, outer secondaries short
and emarginate at the tip. Tail rather long, slightly forked. Tarsus blunt
and scutellated behind as well as before, shorter than the middle toe ;
claws moderate and very slightly curved, that of the hind toe being com-
paratively straight (p. 249).

Order PICARI2E.

Family CYPSELIDAi.

Cypselus, Illiger. — Bill very short, wide, triangular at its base and depressed ;
culmen and commissure much decurved ; gape extending beyond the eyes.
Nostrils longitudinal, the edges raised and furnished with small feathers.
Wings with ten curved primaries, very long and pointed, the first shorter
than the second, but a little longer than the third. Tail, of ten feathers,
somewhat deeply forked. Tarsi very short, feathered in front ; toes four, all
ordinarily directed forwards, the middle and outer with three phalanges
only ; claws short, large and much curved (p. 251).

Acanthyllis, F. Boie. — Wings very long, narrow and pointed. Tail short, even ;
the feathers terminated by long sharp spines. Tarsus bare in front and not
scutellated ; one toe directed backwards. Otherwise much as in preceding
genus (p. 255).

Family CAPRIMULGID/E.

Caprimulgus, Linnaus. — Bill very short, flexible, broad at the base, much
compressed at the point ; gape very wide, extending behind the large eyes ;
upper mandible decurved at the tip, and beset on each side with a row of
moveable bristles directed forward ; lower mandible upturned at the tip, so
as to meet the upper at the point, leaving an open space further back.
Nostrils basal, with a prominent membranaceous rim, clothed with very
small feathers. Wings long, with ten primaries ; the first shorter than the
second, which is the longest. Tail of ten feathers, long and slightly rounded.
Legs weak ; tarsi short, feathered in front for two-thirds of their length ;
feet with three toes before, one behind, the anterior united as far as the first
joint, the posterior turned inwards at right angles, inner and outer toes
equal, the latter with but four phalanges; claws short, except that of the
middle toe, which is long and serrated on the inner edge (p. 257).

b 2

INTRODUCTION.

Family PICID2E.

Subfamily Iyngin^e.

Iynx, Linnceus. — Bill shorter than the head, hard, straight, nearly conical,
sharp at the tip. Nostrils basal, linear, partly closed by a membrane.
Tongue capable of protrusion, the tip horny and smooth. Wings moderate ;
the first primary minute, the third or fourth longest. Tail rather rounded,
of ten rectrices, with straight shafts and webs of ordinary character. Tarsi
strong, slightly feathered in front above ; toes, two before and two behind,
the fourth — which is turned backwards — about as long as the third ; claws
much hooked, grooved and very sharp (p. 261).

Subfamily P ICIN' ,40.

Gecinus, F Boie. — Bill about as long as the head, hard, broad at the base, com-
pressed at the tip ; upper mandible slightly arched, ending abruptly, with a
shallow groove on each side running parallel to and near the culmen, and
longer than the lower mandible, which is pointed, and has the gonys nearer
the tip than the base and the tomia rounded. Nostrils basal, oval, covered
with hair-like feathers directed forwards. Tongue capable of great protru-
sion, beset at the tip with horny barbs. Wings moderate ; the first primary
very short, the fourth longest, but the fifth nearly equal to it. Tail of twelve
graduated rectrices ; the outer pair very short and overlying the next which,
with the rest, are pointed and have stiff, decurved shafts, with hard webs.
Tarsi strong, slightly feathered in front above ; toes, two before and two
behind, the fourth— which is turned backwards— equal to the third ; claws
strongly hooked, grooved and very sharp. Prevailing colour of the plumage
greenish (p. 263).

Dendrocopus, K. L. Koch.— Bill pyramidal, laterally bevelled at the tip.
The fourth toe much longer than the third. Otherwise much as in precec -
ing genus. Prevailing colours black and white, or black and red (p. 265).

Family ALCEDINIMi.

Alcedo, Linnceus. — Bill long, hard, straight, quadrangular and acute Nostrils
basal oblique, nearly closed by a bare membrane. Wings short and rounded,
of ten primaries ; the second or third the longest, but the first near y
equal to them and longer than the fourth. Tail very short of twelve
rectrices. Tibia; bare below ; tarsi short ; toes, three before, one behind, the
middle united to the outer toe as far as the second joint, and to the inner as
far as the first joint ; hind toe not much shorter than the inner (p. 269).

Family CORACIID^E.

Coracias Linnceus. — Bill stout, hard, compressed, with cutting edges slightly
Xiei • upper mandible decurved at .he tip , gape wide. Nos.nk la.eral,
linear and oblique, partly hidden by a plumose membrane Lores beset in
front by a row of stiff bristles. Post-ocular space bare. ^ ings long, of en
primaries ; the first a little shorter than the second or third-which are the
West— but rather longer than the fourth. Tail of twelve feathers, rattier
long. Tarsi short, broadly scutellated in front ; toes free, three before, one
behind ; claws stout (p. 271).

Family MEROPID/E.

Merops Linnceus. — Bill rather long, hard, slightly decurved, and tapering
to a point, the culmen elevated. Nostrils basal, lateral, oval, covered by

INTRODUCTION.

XXI

hairs directed forwards. Wings long, of ten primaries ; the first very short,
the second and third longest. Tail rather long, of twelve feathers, the
central pair elongated and pointed. Tibire bare below ; tarsi short, toes
small, three before, one behind, the middle united to the outer toe as far
as the second joint, and to the inner as far as the first joint (p. 273)-

Family UPUPID^I.

Upupa, Limurus. — Bill long, slender, slightly arched, sharp and much com-
pressed. Nostrils basal, oval, partly concealed by feathers. Tongue very
short and heart-shaped. Head with an erectile crest of oblong feathers set
regularly in pairs for the whole length. Wings moderately long, very broad,
with ten primaries ; the first about half as long as the second, which is
nearly an inch shorter than the third, the fourth or fifth longest, but the sixth
nearly equal to them. Tail of ten feathers, almost square at the end. Feet
with the tarsi scutellated behind as well as before ; three toes before, one
behind, the outer and middle united as far as the first joint ; claws but
slightly curved (p. 275).

Family CUCULID^i.

Cuculus, Lintueus. — Bill short and sub-cylindrical, culmen somewhat decurved,
upper mandible slightly notched near the tip, lower mandible nearly straight
beneath ; gape wide. Nostrils basal, circular, with a prominent membrana-
ceous rim. Wings with ten primaries ; the first short, the third longest, the
innermost three shorter than the first. Tail of ten feathers ; the outer three
pairs graduated, the middle two nearly equal. Tarsi short, feathered for
nearly half their length ; toes two before, two behind (p. 277).

Coccystes, Gloger. — Bill moderate, compressed towards the tip, culmen de-
curved, cutting edge smooth ; lower mandible slightly decurved beneath ;
gape moderate. Nostrils basal, oval, the upper part closed by a membrane.
Head crested. Wings moderate, with ten primaries ; the first short, the
third lungest, but the fourth nearly its equal, the ninth as long as, and the
tenth shorter than, the first. Tail of ten feathers, long and graduated.
Tarsi strong and long, bare behind, slightly feathered in front above ;
toes two before, two behind (p. 279).

Order STRIGES.

Family STRIGIDdE.

Stri x, Lintueus. — Bill straight at the base, decurved only towards the point;
cutting margin of the upper mandible nearly straight, under mandible
notched. Nostrils oval, oblique. Facial disk large and complete, narrowing
rapidly below the eyes towards the beak. Auditory opening square, large,
and furnished with a large and nearly rectangular operculum, stiffened with
the shafts of small feathers. Wings long and ample ; the first and third
quills equal and nearly as long as the second, which is the longest. Tail
short. Legs long and slender, clothed with downy feathers to the origin
of the toes, which are only furnished on the upper surface with a few bristle-
like feathers ; hind toe reversible ; claws long and grooved underneath, that
of the middle toe serrated on the inner edge. Head smooth, not furnished
with tufts (p. 281).

XXtl

INTRODUCTION.

Asio, Brisson. — Bill decurved from the base; cere large; under mandible
notched. Nostrils oval, oblique. Facial disk complete. Conch of the ear
extremely large, with a semicircular operculum running the whole length in
front, and a raised margin behind ; auditory opening asymmetrical. Wings
long, the second quill generally the longest. Legs and toes feathered to
the claws. Head furnished with two tufts, more or less elongated (p. 283).

Syrnium, Savigny.— Bill decurved from the base. Nostrils large. Facial disk
large and complete ; ears large and furnished in front with a large crescentic
operculum, broad below and tapering above. Wings short and rounded ;
the first quill very short, the fourth the longest. Tail long, concave beneath.
Legs and toes feathered. Head large, round and without tufts (p. 287).

Nyctala, C. L. Brehnt. — Bill short, decurved from the base ; cere rudimentary ;
nostrils nearly circular ; under mandible notched. Ears large, asymmetrical,
and furnished in front with a well-developed operculum. Facial disk large
and nearly complete. Wings long, rounded. Tail short. Legs and toes
thickly feathered. Head large, the asymmetry of the aural region extending
to the skull (p. 289).

Athene, F. Boie. — Bill decurved from the base ; cere short and swollen ; nostrils
oval’; lower mandible sinuated. Auditory conch large, the orifice small and
without an operculum. Facial disk not well defined. Wings large, t e
third and fourth quills nearly equal in length. Legs long, covered with
short feathers ; toes above with bristles only, instead of feathers. Head
round, large and w'ithout tufts (p. 291).

NYCTEA, Stephens. — Bill decurved from the base; nostrils large, oval : cere
short; upper mandible smooth, lower mandible notched. Facial disk
incomplete. Orifice of the ears moderate, without operculum. W mgs ot
moderate size ; the third quill the longest, second and fourth nearly equal.
Tail rounded and of moderate length. Legs and toes thickly covered with
feathers. Head large, round, not furnished with tufts of feathers (p. 293).

SURNIA, Dtimeril. — Bill decurved from the base and much hidden by feathers ,
nostrils small and rounded ; cere short ; upper mandible slightly undulated ,
lower mandible notched. Facial disk nearly obsolete. Orifice of the ears
small, without operculum. Wings short ; first quill equal to seventh, second
longer than fifth, third and fourth longest and nearly equal. Tarsi rat
short and— with the toes-thickly feathered. Tail long and graduated.
Head flat and without tufts (p. 295).

Scops, Savigny.- Bill much decurved from the base, cere small, under mandible
notched. Nostrils round. Facial disk incomplete above the eyes ; auditory
conch small, and without an operculum. Wings long, reaching to the end of
the tail ; the third quill generally the longest. Tarsi rather long, feathered
in front ; the toes naked. Head furnished with two tufts of feathers (p. 297).

BUBO, Dimicril. — Bill short, strong, curved, compressed at the point. Nos r, Is
pierced in the cere, large, oval or rounded, facial disk incomplete abou
Sleeves. Auditory opening, small, oval, without an operculum. Wings
lather short, concave ; the" third and fourth quills generally the longest
Legs and toes covered with feathers ; claws long. Head furnished with w

tufts of feathers (p. 299).

INTRODUCTION.

XXlll

Order ACCIPITRES.

Family VULTURIDrE

Gyps, Savigny — Bill strong, thick, and deep, the sides rather swollen,
maxilla rising immediately in front of the cere, forming a oilmen curving to
the tip, where it is somewhat abruptly hooked. Mandible straig an
rounded, becoming narrower towards the point. Nostrils naked and diagona .
Tongue fringed with spines. Head slender and covered with short down,
as is most part of the neck ; above the shoulders a ruff of elongated feathers.
Wings long ; the first quill short, the fourth the longest. Tail of twelve or
fourteen feathers. Feet strong ; claws slightly hooked ; middle toe rat ler
longer than tarsus, and united at base to outer toe by a membrane (p. 301).

Neophron, Savigny.— Bill straight, slender, elongated, rounded above,
encircled at the base with a naked cere, which extends more than half the
length of the beak ; upper mandible with straight edges, hooked at the tip ;
under mandible blunt, and shorter than the upper. Nostrils near the
middle of the beak, elongated, longitudinal. Head and neck partly bare ot
feathers. Wings rather pointed, the third quill the longest. Tail of
fourteen feathers. Legs of moderate strength and length ; tarsi reticulated ;
feet with four toes— three before, one behind ; anterior toes united at the

base (p. 303).

Family F A L C O N I D Ai .

Circus, Lacipide.— Bill small, bending from the base, compressed and elevated ;
cutting edge of the upper mandible with a slight festoon. Cere laige.
Nostrils oval, partly concealed by the hairs radiating from the lores. Lower
part of the head surrounded by a ruff of small thick-set feathers. Wings
long ; the first quill very short, the third and fourth the longest. Tail long.
Tarsi long, slender, and naked ; toes rather short, and not very unequal ,
claws slightly curved, and very sharp (p. 305).

Buteo, Lacipide. — Bill rather small and weak, bending from the base, part of
the cutting edge of the upper mandible slightly projecting ; cere large ;
nostrils oval. Wings ample ; the first quill short, about equal in length to
the seventh, the fourth the longest ; the first four feathers with the inner
edge deeply notched. Tarsi short, strong, scaled, and occasionally feathered ;
toes short, claws strong (p. 31 1).

Aquila, Brisson. — Bill strong, of moderate length, curved from the cere,
pointed, the cutting edges nearly straight. Nostrils oval, lateral, directed
obliquely downward and backward, or circular. Wings large and long, the
fourth quill the longest. Tarsi feathered to the junction of the toes ; feet
strong, the last phalanx of each toe covered by large scales ; claws hooked
(P- 315)-

IIaliaetus, Savigny— Bill elongated, strong, straight at the base, curving in a
regular arc in advance of the cere to the tip and forming a deep hook,
upper ridge broad and rather flattened, edges of the maxilla slightly pro-
minent behind the commencement of the hook. Nostrils large, transverse,
lunate. Wings ample, the fourth quill the longest. Tarsi half feathered ;
the front of the naked part scutellated, and the sides and back reticulated.
Toes divided to their origin, the outer one versatile. Claws strong and
hooked, grooved beneath ; the claw of the hind toe larger than that of
the inner, which again exceeds either of the others (p. 319).

XXIV

INTRODUCTION.

Astur, Lacep'ede. — Bill short, bending from the base ; cutting edge of the upper
mandible produced, forming a festoon. Nostrils oval. Wings short, reaching
only to the middle of the tail-feathers, the fourth quill the longest. Legs
stout, the tarsi covered in front with broad scales. Toes of moderate length,
the middle toe somewhat the longest, the lateral toes nearly equal, but the
inner claws considerably larger than the outer (p. 321).

Accipiter, Brisson. — Bill bending from the base, short, compressed, superior
ridge rounded and narrow, cutting margin of the upper mandible with a
distinct festoon. Nostrils oval. Wings short ; the fourth and fifth quill-
feathers nearly equal in length, and the longest. Legs long, slender, and
smooth. Toes long and slender, the middle toe particularly ; claws curved
and sharp (p. 323).

Milvus, Ladp'edc. — Bill straight at the base, curved from the cere to the point,
cutting margin with a slight festoon. Nostrils oval, oblique. Wings long,
the third or fourth quill the longest. Tail long, generally forked. Legs
short. Toes short and strong ; the outer toe united at its base to the middle
toe, but slightly reversible. Claws moderately long and curved (p. 325)-

Pernis, G. Cuvier. — Bill slender, rather weak, curved from the base, the
cutting edge of the upper mandible nearly straight ; cere large ; nostrils
elongated, placed obliquely ; lores closely covered with small scale-like
feathers. Wings long and large ; the first quill short, the third and fourth
the longest ; inner webs of the first four deeply notched, fail long. Tarsi
short, half-plumed, the rest reticulated ; toes of moderate length and strength ;
claws slender and only slightly curved (p. 329).

Falco, Linnceus. — Bill short, curved from its base; a strong projecting tooth
on each cutting edge of the upper mandible. Wings long and pointed ;
the first and third primaries of equal length, the second longest. Tarsi
short, robust ; toes long, strong, armed with curved and sharp claws

(P- 331)*

Pandion, Savigny. — Bill short, strong, rounded and broad ; cutting edge
nearly straight. Nostrils oblong-oval, oblique. Wings long ; second and
third primaries longest. Legs strong and muscular ; tarsi short, covered
with reticulated scales. Toes free, nearly equal, the outer toe reversible ; all
armed with strong, curved, and sharp claws ; under surface of the toes rough
and covered with small pointed scales. Feathers wanting the accessory
plumule (p. 347).

Order STEGANOPODES.

Family PELECANIDAI.

Phalacrocorax, Brisson. — Bill moderate, or long, straight, compressed, cul-
men rounded ; upper mandible very much curved at the point, hooked ; the
base connected with a membrane which extends to the throat. Pace and
throat naked. Nostrils basal, linear, hidden. Wings of moderate length,
the third quill the longest. Tail of twelve or fourteen stiff and rigid feathers.
Legs strong, short, abdominal ; three toes in front, and a hind toe articulatec
on the inner surface of the tarsus, all four united together by membranes ;
claw of the middle toe serrated on the inner edge (p. 349)-

Sula, Brisson. — Bill strong, long, forming an elongated cone, very large at its

INTRODUCTION.

XXV

base, compressed towards the point, which is slightly curved ; edges of the
mandibles serrated ; angle of the gape behind the line of the eyes. Face
and throat naked. Nostrils basal, obliterated. Wings long, first quill the
longest. Tail wedge-shape. Legs strong, short, placed rather backward ;
three toes in front, and a hind toe, articulated to the inner surface of the
tarsus, all four united by membranes ; claw of the middle toe pectinated

(P- 353)-

Order HERODIONES.

Family ARDEID/E.

Ardea, Brisson. — Bill long, strong, straight, compressed in a lengthened cone ;
upper mandible slightly channelled, ridge rounded. Nostrils lateral, basal,
pierced longitudinally in the groove, and half closed by a membrane. Wings
moderate, the second quill the longest. Tail of twelve feathers, short, nearly
even. Legs long, slender, naked above the tarsal joint ; tarsi scutellate in
front ; three toes in front, the outer united to the middle one by a distinct
membrane, one toe behind, directed inwards ; claws long, compressed,
sharp, the middle claw pectinated on the inside (p. 355)-

Nycticorax, Stephens. — Bill about the same length as the head, bulky, strong,
broad, and dilated at the base ; upper mandible slightly bending and curved
at the point ; under mandible straight. Nostrils longitudinal, lateral, but
little in advance of the base of the beak, naked, placed in a groove, and
partly covered by a naked membrane ; lore and orbits naked. Tail of twelve
broad and moderately hard feathers. Legs of moderate length, naked for a
short distance above the tarsal joint ; tarsus longer than the middle toe, with
hexagonal scutellre in front ; the outer and middle toe united by a membrane ;
claws short, that of the middle toe pectinated (p. 367).

Ardetta, G. R. Gray. — Bill longer than the head, slender, pointed, gape-line
straight. Nostrils basal, linear, longitudinal ; space in front of the eye bare.
Wing broad, rather rounded ; the second quill barely longer than the first,
and a little longer than the third. Tail of ten soft feathers, short and
rounded. Legs rather short, the tibia feathered nearly to the joint ; tarsus
anteriorly scutellate ; toes moderately long and slender, the middle toe
shorter than the tarsus and its claw pectinated on the inner edge (p. 369).

Botaurus, Stephens. — Bill rather longer than the head, strong, higher than broad,
the mandibles of equal length, upper mandible curved downwards. Nostrils
basal, linear, longitudinal, lodged in a furrow, and partly covered by a naked
membrane. Wing long, rather rounded, the first three quills the longest and
nearly equal. Tail of ten soft feathers. Legs of moderate length ; tarsi
scutellate ; toes long and slender, all unequal, the middle toe as long as the
tarsus ; hind toe long, articulated with the interior toe and on the same
plane ; claws long, that of the middle toe pectinated (p. 371).

Family CICONIIDvE.

Ciconia, Brisson. — Bill longer than the head, straight, strong, and pointed.
Nostrils pierced longitudinally in the horny substance. Eyes surrounded by
a naked skin. Wings rather large, the first quill-feather shorter than the
second, the third and fourth quills the longest in the wing. Plumage without

XXVI

INTRODUCTION.

powder -down tracts. Tail short and slightly rounded. Legs long; feet with
four rather short toes, the three in front united by a membrane as far as the
first joint ; claws short, broad, obtuse, the middle claw not pectinated
(P- 375)-

Family IBIDID/E.

Plegadis, Katip. — Bill long, slender, decurved, large at the base, the point de-
pressed, obtuse, rounded ; upper mandible deeply grooved throughout its
length. Nostrils on the upper surface and near the base of the beak, oblong,
narrow, pierced in a membrane which covers part of the aperture. Face
and lores naked, without feathers. Tail of twelve feathers, moderate, even.
Wings moderate ; the first quill shorter than the second and third, which are
the longest. Legs rather long, naked above the tarsal joint ; three toes in
front, one behind ; the anterior toes united by a membrane, hind toe long
and resting its length on the ground. Plumage more or less Stork -like,
wanting the powder-down tracts of the Herons (p. 379).

Family I’LATALEID.'E.

Platalea, Linnaus. — Bill long, and much flattened, dilated at the point
and rounded in the form of a spoon ; upper mandible channelled and
transversely grooved at the base. Nostrils on the upper surface of the beak,
near together, oblong, open, bordered by a membrane. Forehead, lores,
orbits and chin naked. Wings rather large ; the third quill nearly as long
as the second, which is the longest. Legs long and robust ; three toes in
front, united as far as the second articulation by a membrane, the marginal
edge of which is deeply concave ; hind toe long (p. 381).

Order ODONTOGLOSS^J.

Family PHCENICOPTERID.L.

Phcenicopterus, Brisson. — Bill longer than the head, abruptly bent in the
middle ; edges of both mandibles furnished with fine transverse plates
(lamellae). Nostrils, linear, sub-basal. Neck very long and slender. Wings
moderately long, the first quill slightly the longest ; the inner secondaries
longer than, and folding over, the closed primaries. Tail short, even. Legs
very long and slender ; the chief portion of the tibia bare ; tarsus broadly
scutellate; toes short, the three anterior ones palmated, with incised webs,
hind toe elevated, free and small ; claws flattened and obtuse (p. 383).

Order ANSERES.

Family ANATID/E.

Anser, Brisson. — Bill nearly as long as' the head, sub-conical, elevated at the
base, which is covered with a cere or skin ; a conspicuous nail (unguis) at t e
tip ; under mandible smaller than the upper. Nostrils lateral, placed towards
the middle of the beak, pierced anteriorly. Wings large, the second quill
longest. Tail of sixteen feathers. Legs under the centre of the body ; the
tarsi moderately long ; the hind toe free, articulated upon the tarsus ; the
three anterior toes united by a membrane (p. 385).

INTRODUCTION.

XXVll

Chen, F. Bote.— Bill shorter thnn the head, very robust, and higher than broad
at the base; culmen slightly convex, the outline of the lower mandible de-
cidedly so, leaving an elliptical space displaying the lamellae. Nostrils sub-
basal. Feathers on the neck less conspicuously furrowed than in true Anser.
Wings long, full, the second quill the longest. Tail rather short and
rounded. Tibia feathered to the joint; tarsus moderately long, reticulate ;
three anterior toes connected by a membrane ; hind toe short and elevated

(P- 393)

Bernicla, F. Boie. — Bill much shorter than the head, sub-conical, higher than
broad at the base, narrowing to the end ; nail broadly ovate; edges of the
bill nearly straight, scarcely showing the margins of the lamella:. Nostri s
oval, placed in the anterior portion of the nasal depression, near the centie
of the bill. Feathers on the neck narrow, blended. Wings large, the second
quill usually the longest. Tail short, rounded. Legs short and stout, the
tarsus reticulate ; the three anterior toes long, united by a membrane ; hind toe
small and elevated; claws small, that on the middle toe broadly lounde

(P- 395)-

Cygnus, Bech stein. — Bill of equal breadth throughout its length, higher than
wide at the base, depressed at the point ; both mandibles furnished along the
sides with transverse serrated lamellae. Lores chiefly naked. Nostrils oblong,
lateral, near the middle of the beak. Neck slender and very long. Legs
short ; tarsi reticulated ; the three front toes fully webbed, the hind toe small
and free. Sexes alike in plumage (p. 401).

Tadorna, Fleming. — Bill about the length of the head, higher than broad at the
base, depressed or concave in the middle, breadth nearly equal throughout ,
under mandible much narrower than the upper, and the latter grooved near the
tip ; nail decurved, forming a hook ; both mandibles furnished with thin trans-
verse lamellae. Nasal groove near the base of the beak ; nostrils oval, lateial,
pervious. Wings of moderate length, the second quill the longest. Legs
moderate; the tibia naked for a short space above the tarsal joint; three
toes entirely webbed in front, and one behind free. Sexes nearly alike in
plumage (p. 407).

Anas, Brisson. — Bill about as long as the head, broad, depressed, sides parallel,
sometimes partially dilated ; both mandibles furnished on the inner edges with
transverse lamellae. Nostrils small, oval, lateral, anterior to the base of the
beak. Wings rather long, pointed. Tail wedge-shaped. Legs rather short,
placed under the centre of the body; tarsus somewhat rounded; three toes
in front, connected by membranes ; hind toe free, without pendent lobe or
membrane. The sexes differ in plumage (p. 411).

Sfatula, F. Boie. — Bill much longer than the head, compressed at the base, widen-
ing towards the end, lamella: projecting conspicuously from the base to near
the broadest part. Wing pointed, the first and second quills the longest.
Tail short, graduated, of fourteen pointed feathers. Legs very short; hind
toe small, free, unlobed (p. 415).

Dafila, Stephens. — Bill about as long as the head, the edges nearly parallel, but
widening a trifle to the end; lamellae not very strongly defined. Neck long
and slender. Wings long and pointed, the first and second quills sub-equal
and longest, the rest rapidly graduated. Tail sharply pointed, the central
rectrices considerably elongated in the male. Legs rather short ; hind toe
small ; margin of web to anterior toes slightly emarginate (p. 417).

xxvm

INTRODUCTION.

Querquedula, Stephens. — Bill about as long as the head, the edges nearly
parallel ; the extremities of the lamellae exposed along the projecting edge
of the upper mandible ; nostrils small and oblong. Wings rather long,
pointed, the first and second quills sub-equal and longer than the rest ;
scapulars and inner secondaries elongated and pointed. Tail of sixteen
feathers, short and rounded. Legs short ; tarsus compressed, anteriorly
scutellate ; hind toe very small, outer toe much shorter than the third,
centre toe rather long ; interdigital membrane emarginate ; claws small,
somewhat curved (p. 419).

Mareca, Stephens. — Bill considerably shorter than the head, higher than broad
at the base, gradually depressed and narrowed towards the point ; culmen
slightly concave ; lamellse only just visible ; wings rather long and pointed ;
the first and second quills sub-equal and longer than the rest. Tail short
and pointed. Legs short, the tibia bare for a short distance ; hind toe with
a very narrow lobe ; feet rather small (p. 425).

Fuligula, Stephens. — Bill not longer than the head, but slightly elevated at the
base, depressed towards the tip, sides parallel ; both mandibles laminated,
lateral edges of the upper mandible enclosing the edges of the under one.
Nostrils at a short distance from the base. Wings rather short, pointed.
Legs with the middle and outer toes longer than the tarsus, which is
flattened laterally ; feet large, webbed ; the hind toe with a broad lobe
(p. 429).

Clangula, F. Boie. — Bill much shorter than the head, higher than broad at the
base, depressed towards the nail, which is elliptical and decurved at the tip ;
lamellae completely hidden by the overhanging edge of the maxilla; nostrils
near the middle of the bill. Wings rather short, pointed, the first quill the
longest. Tail of sixteen feathers, moderately long, rounded. Legs short,
placed far back ; tarsi scutellate in front ; hind toe small, slender, broadly
lobed ; interdigital membranes full (p. 439).

Harei.da, Stephens. — Bill much shorter than the head, its outlines tapering
rapidly to the tip, which is occupied by a broad, prominently decurved nail ;
lamellse slightly exposed along the gape-line ; nostrils oblong, sub-basal.
Feathering at the base of the bill forming an oblique line, advancing
furthest forward on the forehead, and scarcely interrupted by the re-entrant
angle so prominent in most Ducks. Wings rather short, pointed ; scapulars
much elongated and lanceolate in the adult male. Tail of fourteen feathers,
short and graduated, except the two central feathers, which are very long and
tapering in the adult male. Legs short, placed far back ; hind toe small
but broadly lobed (p. 443).

Cosmonetta, Kanp. — Bill rather short, converging rapidly to the tip, which
is occupied by a large decurved nail ; a small lobe on each side at the base
of the upper mandible ; lamellse concealed ; nostrils oblong, median. \\ ing
short, pointed, the first and second quills nearly equal in length. 1 ail of
fourteen rather pointed feathers, much graduated. Legs short and placed
far back ; hind toe slender, with a large lobe ; anterior toes fully webbed

(P- 445)-

Somateria, F. Boie. — Bill swollen and elevated at the base, extending up on
the forehead, where it is divided by an elongated, descending, angular, pro-
jection of feathers down the surface. Nostrils lateral, oval, small. W ings

INTRODUCTION.

XXIX

moderate, with the first and second quills sub-equal. Tail short, of fourteen
feathers. Legs short ; three anterior toes, broadly webbed ; hind toe with a
deeply lobated membrane (p. 447) .

CEdemia, Fleming.— Bill swollen or tuberculated at the base, large, elevated,
and strong ; the tip much depressed, and terminated by a large flat nail,
rounded and slightly deflected at the extremity ; lamellae broad, strong, and
widely set. Nostrils lateral, elevated, oval, placed near the middle of the
bill. Wings rather short, pointed. Tail short, graduated, acute. Legs far
behind the centre of gravity ; tarsi short ; feet large ; three toes in front
and one behind ; the outer toe as long as the middle one and much longer
than the tarsus, hind toe with a large lobated membrane (p. 453).

Mergus, Linnccits. — Bill about as long or longer than the head, straight, slender,
rather pointed, the base large, forming an elongated and almost cylindrical
cone ; point of the upper mandible curved and, with the horny nail, forming
a hook ; edges of both mandibles furnished with saw-like teeth, the points
directed backwards. Nostrils lateral, about the middle of the beak, longi-
tudinally elliptic. Wings moderate, the first and second quill-feathers nearly
equal in length. Legs short, placed rather backward ; three toes in front
webbed, hind toe with a pendant lobe or membrane (p. 459).

Order COLUMBiE.

Family COLUMBID/E.

Columba, Linmeus. — Bill moderate, straight at the base, compressed, the point
deflected. Base of the upper mandible covered with a soft skin, in which
the nostrils are pierced. Wings, long, broad, rather pointed ; the second
quill-feather longest. Tail of twelve feathers, nearly even. Tarsi short,
anteriorly scutellate, posteriorly scurfy ; three toes in front, entirely divided,
one toe behind (p. 467).

Turtur, Selby. — Bill rather slender, the tip of the upper mandible gently
deflected, that of the lower scarcely exhibiting the appearance of an angle ;
base of the upper mandible covered with two soft, tumid, bare substances
covering the nostrils. Tail of twelve feathers, rather long and considerably
rounded or graduated. Wings rather long and pointed, the first quill a little
shorter than the second, which is the longest. Tarsi rather shorter than the
middle toe ; inner toe longer than the outer (p. 473).

Order PTEROCLETES.

Family PTEROCLID/E.

Svrrhaptes, Illiger. — Bill small, gradually decurved from the base to the point;
nostrils basal, hidden in the feathers. Wings very long, pointed, the first
primary longest. Tail of sixteen feathers, cuneate, the two central rectrices long
and tapering. Tarsi very short and strong, covered with downy feathers to
the toes, which are three in number, all in front, and united by a membrane
as far as the claws ; hind toe (hallux) obsolete ; soles rugose ; claws broad
and obtuse (p. 475).

XXX

INTRODUCTION.

Order G ALLIN.®.

Family TETRAO NI DAL

Tetrao, Linnecus. — Bill short, strong ; upper mandible convex, and arched from
the base to the tip. Nostrils basal, lateral, partly closed by an arched scale,
and hidden from view by small closely-set feathers. Space above the eye
naked, the skin with red papillae, and fringed. Wings short and rounded ;
the fifth quill the longest. Tail of eighteen feathers. Tarsi feathered to the
junction of the toes, which are naked ; the three in front united as far as the
first joint ; one toe behind, short ; the edges of all pectinated.

Lagopus, Brisson. — Bill very short, clothed at the base with feathers ; the upper
mandible convex, and bent down at the point. Nostrils basal, lateral, partly
closed by an arched membrane, and nearly hidden by the small closely-set
feathers at the base of the bill. Eyebrows naked, as in Tetrao. Wings
short, concave, with the third and fourth quills the longest. Tail of sixteen
feathers, generally square at the end. Tarsi and toes completely feathered ;
hind toe very short and barely touching the ground with the tip of the nail ;
claws long and nearly straight.

Family PHASIANIDAL

Piiasianus, Brisson. — Bill of moderate length, strong ; upper mandible convex,
naked at the base, and with the tip bent downwards. Nostrils basal^
lateral covered with a cartilaginous scale ; cheeks and the skin surrounding
the eyes destitute of feathers, and with a verrucose red covering in the male.
Wings short ; the first quill narrow towards the tip, the fourth and fifth
feathers the longest in the wing. Tail of eighteen feathers, long, wedge-
shaped, graduated. Feet with three anterior toes united by a membrane
as far as the first joint ; the hind toe articulated upon the tarsus, which is
furnished with a horny, conical and sharp spur in the male (p. 485).

Perdix, Brisson. — Bill short, strong, naked at the base ; upper mandible convex,
deflected towards the tip. Nostrils basal, lateral, the orifice partly con-
cealed by an arched naked scale. Wings short, concave, rounded in form ;
the first three quills shorter than the fourth or fifth, which are the longest
in the wing. Tail with sixteen feathers in the same plane, short, rounded.
Feet with three toes in front and one behind, those in front united by a
membrane as far as the first joint (p. 4§7)-

Caccabis, Kanp. — Bill short, stout, naked at the base ; upper mandible de-
curved to the tip. Nostrils basal, lateral, partly covered and closed by an
oblong homy scale. Wings short, rounded ; the first three feathers shorter
than the fourth and fifth, which are the longest. Tail of fourteen feathers,
short rounded. Tarsi anteriorly scutellate, and-in the male-armed with
blunt spurs ; three toes in front united at their bases by a membrane ; one

toe behind (p. 489).

Coturnix, Bonnaterre. — Bill strong, shorter than the head, upper mandible
curved Nostrils basal, lateral, half closed by an arched membrane. U mgs
moderate, the first quill the longest. Tail short, rounded, recumbent,
almost hidden by the tail-coverts. Tarsi unarmed. Feet with four toes, those
anterior connected by a membrane as far as the first joint (p. 491).

INTRODUCTION.

XXXI

Order FULICARI.®.

Family RALLID/E.

Crex, Bechstein. — Bill shorter than the head, thick at the base, compressed ;
the culmen gradually deflecting from the forehead to the point of the bill ;
lateral furrow of the upper mandible broad, and occupying more than half its
length ; angle of the under mandible bending upwards ; both mandibles of
an equal length. Nostrils concave, lateral, linear, ovoid, pierced in a mem-
brane occupying the furrow in the middle of the bill. Wings armed with a
spine, and having the second and third quills the longest. Legs strong, of
moderate length, with the lower part of the tibia naked. Feet with three
anterior toes, long, slender, and cleft to their base without any lateral
membrane ; the hind toe resting almost wholly on the ground ; claws arcuate,
compressed and sharp (p. 493).

Porzana, Vieillot. — Bill shorter than the head, slightly higher than broad at the
base, compressed, tapering towards the point. Nostrils linear and oblong, the
nasal groove reaching to the middle of the bill. Wings shorter than in Crex ;
the second quill the longest. Tail short, rounded, the feathers narrow, weak,
and slightly curved. Tibice bare on the lower part ; tarsi short, scutellate
in front ; toes long and slender ; claws long, curved, and acutely tapering
(P- 495)-

Rallus, Brisson. — Bill longer than the head, slender, slightly decurved, com-
pressed at the base, cylindrical at the point ; upper mandible grooved at
the sides. Nostrils pierced longitudinally in the lateral groove, partly
covered by ,a membrane. Wings moderate, rounded ; the first quill much
shorter than the second, the third and fourth the longest. Legs long and
robust, with a small naked space above the tarsal joint ; the three anterior
toes divided to their origin, the hind toe articulated upon the tarsus (p. 501).

Gallinula, Brisson. — Bill thick at the base, compressed, slightly swollen
towards the tip, subconic, as short as the head. Upper mandible convex,
with the culmen extended and dilated, forming a naked, oblong frontal plate
or shield ; lateral furrow wide ; mandibles of nearly equal length ; angle of
the lower one ascending. Nostrils lateral, pervious, pierced in the mem-
brane of the furrow in the middle of the bill, longitudinal and linear.
Wings short, concave, rounded ; armed with a small, ‘sharp, recumbent spine.
Legs long, naked for a short space above the tarsal joint, scutellated in
front, reticulated behind. Toes, three before and one behind, long, divided
and bordered through their whole length by a narrow entire membrane
(P- 5°3)-

Fulica, Brisson. — Bill and frontal plate much as in Gallinula. Wings of
moderate size ; the first quill shorter than the second or third, which are
the longest in the wing. Tail short. Legs rather long, naked above the
tarsal joint ; three toes in front, one behind ; all the toes long, united at
the base, and furnished laterally with extensions of the membranes, which
form round lobes (p. 505).

XXX11

INTRODUCTION.

Order ALECTORIDES.

Family GRUID/E.

Grus, Beclistein.— Bill longer than the head, straight, strong, compressed and
pointed. Nostrils placed longitudinally in a furrow, large, pervious, closed
posteriorly by a membrane. Wings moderate and rounded ; the first quill
shorter than the second, the third the longest in the wing. Legs very long,
robust, naked above the joint ; three toes in front, middle toe united to the
outer toe by a membrane, hind toe articulated high up on the tarsus (p. 507).

Family OTIDIDcE.

Otis, Linnaeus.— Bill moderate, straight, depressed at the base, the point of the
upper mandible curved. Nostrils a little removed from the base, lateral,
oval and open. Wings of moderate length, rather rounded in form ; the
third quill the longest. Legs long, naked above the tarsal joint. Toes three ;
all directed forward, short, united at the base, and edged with membranes
(p. 5°9)-

Order LIMICOLA3.

Family CEDICNEMIDrii.

CEdicnemus, Temminck. — Bill stout, strong, and straight, a little depressed at
the base ; ridge of the upper mandible elevated, under mandible with a sharp
angle at the gonys. Nostrils in the middle of the beak, extending longi-
tudinally as far forward as the horny portion, open in front, pervious. Wings
moderate, the second quill longest. Tail much graduated. Legs long,
slender ; three toes only, directed forwards, united by a membrane as far as
the second joint (p. 515)-

Family GLAREOLID/E.

Glareola, Brisson. — Bill short, convex, compressed towards the point, the
upper mandible curved throughout the distal half of its length. Nostrils
basal, lateral, pierced obliquely. Wings very long, the first quill the longest.
Tail forked. Legs bare for a short space above the tarsal joint, long and
rather slender ; three toes in front, one behind ; the middle toe united by a
short membrane to the outer toe ; the inner toe free ; the hind toe articulated
upon the tarsus ; clfiws long and subulate (p. 517).

Family CHARADRIID.cE.

Cursorius Latham. — Bill a trifle shorter than the head, straight to the end of
the nasal furrow, then decurved to the tip, which is pointed. Nostrils oval.
Wings long, rather pointed ; the first and second quill the longest m the
wing. Tail rounded. Tarsi long and slender ; three toes, only, all in front,
the middle toe almost as long again as the lateral toes (p. 519).

Eudromias, C. L. Brehm. — Bill rather slender, compressed, shorter than the
head ; nasal furrow extending about half the length of the upper mandible,
which is horny and slightly decurved to the tip. Nostrils sub-basal, lateral,
linear Tail rather long, slightly rounded. Wings of moderate length,
pointed, the first quill the longest ; the inner secondaries very nearly as long

INTRODUCTION.

XXX1I1

as the primaries. Legs o' moderate length, scutellate, rather slender, naked
for a short distance above the tarsal joint. Toes three only, all directed for-
wards, the outer and middle toes connected at the base by a slight web ;
claws short, curved, slender (p. S21)-

/Egialitis, F. Boie. — Bill much shorter than the head, rather slender ; straight to
the end of the nasal furrow, which extends beyond the middle of the bill, then
slightly raised, but bent downwards at the tip. Nostrils small and linear.
Wings long, pointed, the first quill the longest ; the inner secondaries
attaining the tip of the third primary. Tail broad, slightly rounded. Legs
moderately long, slender, bare for a short distance above the tarsal joint ;
tarsi reticulated. Toes three only, slightly webbed at the base (p. 523).

Charadrius, Lintusus. — Bill shorter than the head, straight, rather slender, the
upper mandible straight to the end of the nasal furrow, then slightly raised,
and decurved to the pointed tip. Nostrils sub-basal and linear. Wings long
and pointed, the first quill the longest ; inner secondaries much shorter than
in Ewlromias and" somewhat shorter than in ALgialitis. Legs of moderate
length, slender, bare for a short distance above the tarsal joint ; tarsi reticu-
lated. Toes three only, all directed forwards, slightly webbed at the base

(P- 530-

SQUATAROLA, Leach. — Bill nearly as long as the head, rather strong, upper
mandible straight to the end of the nasal groove which is long and wide :
then raised and decurved to the tip. Nostrils sub-basal, linear. Wings long,
pointed, the first quill the longest. Legs moderate, slender ; lower part of
the tibia naked, tarsi reticulated. Toes four in number ; three directed
forward, and slightly webbed at their base, the fourth behind, rudimental but
distinct and elevated (p. 535).

Vanellus, Brissou. — Bill shorter than the head, straight, slightly compressed ;
the points of both mandibles horny and hard. Nasal groove wide, and
reaching as far as the horny tip. Nostrils basal, linear, pierced in the
membrane of the nasal groove. Wings large, tuberculated or spurred in
front of the carpal joint ; the first and second quill-feathers shorter than the
third and fourth, which are about equal, and the longest in the wing. Legs
slender, with the lower part of the tibiae naked ; tarsi reticulated behind,
scutellated in front. Feet with three anterior toes united at the base by a
membrane, and a short hind toe, articulated upon the tarsus (p. 539).

Strepsii.as. Illiger. — Bill as short as the head, strong, thick at the base, tapering
gradually to the point, forming an elongated cone ; upper mandible the longer,
rather blunt at the end. Nostrils basal, lateral, linear, pervious, partly
covered by a membrane. Wings long, pointed, the first quill-feather the
longest. Feet with three toes in front, united by a membrane at the
base and furnished with narrow rudimentary interdigital membranes ; a hind
toe articulated upon the tarsus and just reaching the ground (p. 541).

H/EMATOi'US, Linmeus.— Bill longer than the head, straight, strong, the point
much compressed, forming a wedge ; culmen of the anterior part slightly
convex ; upper mandible with a broad lateral groove, extending one-half the
length of the bill ; mandibles nearly equal in size and length, with the thin
ends truncated. Nostrils basal, lateral, linear, pierced in the membrane of

XXXI V

INTRODUCTION.

the mandibular groove. Legs of moderate length, naked for a short space
above the tarsal joint ; tarsi strong. Feet with three toes only, all directed
forward, united at their base by a membrane ; claws broad (p. 543)-

Family SCOLOPACID/E.

Recurvi rostra, Linnaus. — Bill very long, slender, weak, depressed throughout
its whole length, flexible, pointed, and curving upwards; the upper mandible
grooved along the upper surface, under mandible grooved along the side.
Nostrils near the base of the upper surface of the beak, linear, long. Wings
pointed, the first quill the longest. Legs long and slender, a great portion of
the tibia naked ; three toes in front, united as far as the second joint by a
membrane, the margin of which is concave ; hind toe minute, articulated
high up on the tarsus (p. 545)-

Himantopus, Brisson.— KiW long, slender, slightly recurved at the tip, cylindri-
cal, flattened at the base, compressed at the point, both mandibles grooved
on the sides along the basal half of their length. Nostrils lateral, linear,
elongated. Wings very long, the first quill considerably the longest. Legs
very long and slender ; three toes only, all in front, the middle united to the
outer toe by a membrane of considerable size, and to the interior toe by a
smaller membrane ; claws small and flat (p. 547 )•

Pn AI.AROPUS, Brisson. — Bill rather long, weak, straight, depressed, and blunt;
both mandibles grooved throughout their whole length ; the upper mandible
slightly curved at the point. Nostrils basal, lateral, oval, with an elevated
margin. Wings long and pointed, the first quill the longest. Legs rather
short, slender. Tarsus compressed ; three toes in front, furnished with an
extension of the membrane laterally, forming lobes slightly serrated at the
edges ; a small hind toe articulated on the inner side of the tarsus (p. 549).

SCOLOI’AX, Brisson. — Bill long, straight, compressed, slender, soft, slightly
curved at the point ; both mandibles grooved over the basal half of their
length ; point of the upper mandible extending beyond that of the lower
mandible, the curved part forming a slight crook ; superior ridge elevated at
the base, prominent. Nostrils lateral, ‘basal, pierced-longitudinally near the
edges of the mandible, covered by a membrane. Wings moderate, the first
quill the longest. Tail short, rounded. Legs rather short, tibia feathered
nearly to the tarsal joint ; three toes before and one behind, the anterior
toes almost entirely divided (p. 553).

GallinagO, Leach.— Bill very long, straight, slender, flexible, slightly elevated
towards the tip of the upper mandible, which is decurved at the point and
projects beyond the lower; both mandibles grooved over the basal half of
their length. Nostrils lateral, linear, basal, covered by a membrane. Tail
slightly rounded. Wings moderate, pointed, the first quill the longest ;
inner secondaries very long. Legs rather long and slender ; naked space on
the tibia short ; tarsus scutellate ; three toes before, long, slender, divided to
the base ; hind toe slender, elevated ; claws slender, acute (p. 555)-

Macrorhamphus, I. each. — Bill long, straight, rounded, rather slender in the
middle, the tip dilated, slightly incurved and rugose. Nostrils lateral, basal.
Wings long and pointed. Tail of twelve feathers. Lower part of the tibia
naked ; toes four in number, those on the outside connected at their base
by a membrane ; the hind toe touching the ground only at the tip (p. 561).

INTRODUCTION.

XXXV

Limicola, K. L. Koch. — Bill much longer than the head, nearly as broad as ng
‘ at the base, very flat and wide up to the tip, where it is gradually rounded to
an obtuse point, with the terminal point slightly decurved; nostrils oval
oblique, placed in a depressed membrane. Wings long, pointed, the is
quill the longest ; inner secondaries long and pointed. Tail moderate,
doubly emarginate. Legs rather short, slender, bare on the lower part of
the tibia ; tarsus scutellate ; the three anterior toes long and slender, slightly
webbed at the base ; the hind toe moderate (p. 563).

Tringa, Brisson. — Bill rather longer than the head, sometimes decurved, rather
flexible, compressed at the base, depressed, dilated, and blunt towards the
point, both mandibles grooved along the sides. Nostrils lateral, placed in
The membrane of the groove. Wings moderately long, pointed, the first
quill the longest. Legs moderately long, slender, lower part of tibia naked ;
three toes in front, divided to their origin ; one toe behind, small, and
articulated upon the tarsus (p. 565)’

Calidris, Illiger.— Bill as long as the head, straight, slender, flexible, com-
pressed at the base, with the point dilated and smooth. Nostrils basal,
lateral, narrow, longitudinally cleft in the nasal furrow, which extends to the
smooth point of the beak. Wings of moderate length, pointed, the first
quill the longest. Tail of twelve feathers, short, doubly emarginate. Legs
rather short, naked for some distance above the tarsal joint. Feet with only
three toes , all directed forwards, with a very small connecting membrane at
their base (p. 583)-

Machetes, G. Cuvier.— Bill straight, rather slender, as long as the head, with the
tip dilated and smooth ; upper mandible laterally sulcated for four fifths of
its length ; culmen rounded. Nostrils basal, lateral, linear, placed in the
commencement of the groove. Wings long and pointed, the first quill the
longest. Legs moderate, the tibia naked for a considerable space above the
tarsal joint. Toes, three before and one behind ; the outer toe united to
the middle one by a small web ; hind toe short, barely touching the ground.
During the breeding-season the head and neck of the male are adorned with
long plumes, which, when raised, form a large ruff around the head, and the
face is covered with small fleshy warts or papilla: (p. 585).

Tryngites, Cabanis. — Bill shorter than the head, slender, straight, decurved,
acute and hardened at the tip ; nasal groove long ; nostrils basal, linear,
rather large. Gape extensive. Wings pointed, the first quill the longest.
Tail rounded, with projecting central feathers. Legs moderate, slender, the
tibia bare for a considerable distance ; tarsus compressed, slender, scutellate,
anterior toes cleft nearly to their bases ; hind toe small, elevated ; claws small,
arched, slender, slightly acute (p. 587).

Bartramia, Lesson. — Bill scarcely longer than the head, moderately slender,
straight, the nasal groove extending nearly to the tip, which is narrowed but
obtuse ; nostrils linear, basal. Gape very wide and deep. Wings not
reaching to the end of the tail, pointed ; the first quill the longest, the inner
secondaries rather elongated. Tail of twelve feathers, long, much rounded.
Legs rather long and slender, the tibia bare for a considerable distance ;
tarsus scutellate; toes, three in front, long and slender, a slight web between
the outer and the middle ones ; hind toe elevated (p. 589).

Tot anus, Bechslein.— Bill longer than the head, straight or very slightly re-

XXXVI

INTRODUCTION.

curved, soft at the base, hard, solid and cutting at the point, compressed
throughout the whole length, ending in a sharp point; both mandibles
grooved at the base, the extreme end of the upper mandible slightly bent
towards the under one. Nostrils lateral, linear, pierced longitudinally in a
groove. Wings moderate ; the first quill the longest ; inner secondaries
elongated. Tail rather short ; somewhat rounded. Legs moderate or long,
slender, naked above the tarsal joint ; three toes in front, one behind ; the
middle toe united to the outer toe by a membrane (p. 591).

Limosa, Brisson. — Bill very long, rather thick at the base, compressed, slightly
curved upwards ; both mandibles grooved laterally to within a short distance
of the point, which is somewhat dilated and blunt ; tip of the upper
mandible projecting beyond the lower one. Nostrils basal, placed in the
lateral groove, narrow and longitudinal. Wings pointed, of moderate length,
the first quill the longest. Tail short and even. Legs long and slender, a
great part of the tibia naked. Feet four-toed, three in front, one behind ;
outer and middle toes united at the base by a membrane, the inner toe nearly
free ; middle claw dilated, recurved, and pectinated ; hind toe short, and
articulated upon the tarsus (p. 607).

Numenius, Brisson. — Bill long, slender, and decurved to the point, which is
hard ; upper mandible rather longer than the lower, rounded near the end
and grooved along three-fourths of its whole length. Nostrils lateral, linear,
pierced in the groove. Wings moderate, the first quill the longest. Legs
rather long, slender ; tibia partly naked ; three toes in front, united by a
membrane as far as the first joint ; one toe behind articulated upon the
tarsus and touching the ground (p. 61 1).

Order GAVIiE.

Family LARID/E.

Subfamily Sterninas.

IIydrochei.idon, Bote. — Bill about as long as the head, nearly straight, tapering.
Nasal groove rather long ; nostrils basal, direct, oblong. Wings long and
pointed, the first quill the longest. Tail short, very slightly forked. Legs
short; the tibia bare for some distance; the tarsus compressed, anteriorly
scutellate; three toes in front connected by deeply scalloped webs; hind toe
small and elevated ; claws long, slender, curved (p. 617).

Sterna, Brisson. — Bill longer than the head, nearly straight, compressed, often
slender and tapering, with the edges sharp, and the end pointed ; the mandi-
bles of equal length, the upper one slightly decurved. Nostrils near the
middle of the beak, pierced longitudinally, pervious. Wings long, pointed,
the first quill-feather the longest. Tail distinctly forked in varying degrees.
Legs slender, naked for a short space above the tarsal joint ; tarsi short.
Toes four ; the three in front united by intervening membranes concave in
front, or semipalmated ; the hind toe free; claws curved (p. 623).

ANOtis, Stephens. — Tail moderately long, rounded, slightly emarginate. Three
anterior toes united by a very full web, hind toe small ; claws strong and
curved. Otherwise much as in Sterna (p. 639).

INTRODUCTION.

XXXVII

Subfamily Larin.e.

Xema, Leach. — Bill rather shorter than the head, moderately stout ; the upper
mandible decurved from beyond the nostrils to the tip, the gonys angu a t
and advancing upwards. Nostrils basal, lateral, lineal. mgs o a,
first quill the longest. Tail distinctly forked. Legs moderately long the
lower part of the tibia bare for some distance; tarsi tolerably strong, three
toes in front entirely webbed, hind toe small, elevated (p. 641).

Rhodostethm, Macgillivray. — Bill very short, rather slender; the upper man-
dible decurved towards the tip, the lower mandible with the mtercrural space
narrow, the knob slight, the dorsal line concave, and the tip nanow Wings
long, pointed, the first quill the longest. Tail cuneate, the central feathers
much longer than the lateral ones. Legs rather short, the tibia baie for a
short distance ; tarsus anteriorly scutellate, rough posteriorly ; hind toe very
distinct, with a large curved claw; the three anterior toes entirely webbed ;
claws rather large, and curved (p. 643)

Larus, Linnceus. — Bill of moderate length, strong, hard, compressed, cutting,
slightly decurved towards the point, lower mandible shorter than the upper,
the symphisis angular, prominent. Nostrils lateral, near the middle of the
beak, pierced longitudinally, pervious. Wings long, the first and second
quills varying slightly in their relative length, but nearly equal. Tail square
at the end. Legs moderately slender, lower part of the tibiae naked, the
tarsus long, three toes in front entirely palmated, the hind toe free, short,
but not rudimentary, articulated high up on the tarsus above t le me o t ie
other toes (p. 645).

Rissa, Stephens— Bill rather short and stout, the upper mandible considerably <
curved to the tip , the lower mandible compressed, with the intercrural space
long and narrow. Nostrils median, linear, oblong. Wings long, pointed,
the first primary slightly exceeding the second. Tail slightly but percepti > y
forked in the young, nearly square in the adult ; tarsus very short in propor-
tion to the foot; hind toe minute and usually obsolete ; claws rather sma ,
slightly curved (p. 667).

Pagophila, Kaup. — Bill shorter than the head, robust, compressed, straight, the
upper mandible decurved towards the tip, lower mandible narrower. Nostrils
basal, linear, oblong, wider in front, covered above and behind with a sloping
thin-edged plate. Wings long, pointed, the first quill longest. Tail rather
long slightly graduated. Legs short, bare for a short distance above the
tibia; tarsi broadly scutellate in front, and minutely at the sides and back ;
interdigital membranes emarginated and serrated; claws strong and curved ,
hind toe furnished with a large claw, and connected on the inside with the
tarsus by a well-defined web (p. 669).

Subfamily Stercorariin/E.

Stercorarius, Brisson. — Hill strong, hard, cylindrical, formed for cutting ;
compressed, curved, and hooked at the point; base of the upper mandible
covered with a cere. Nostrils situated towards the point of the beak,
diagonal, narrow, closed behind, pervious. Tail slightly rounded, the two
middle feathers elongated, sometimes considerably. Wings moderate, the
first quill the longest. Legs strong, naked above the tarsi, which are rather
long ; three toes in front, palmated ; the hind toe small ; claws large, strong,
very much curved (p. 671).

XXXV111

INTRODUCTION.

Order PYGOPODES.

Family ALCIDjE.

Alca, Liftmens. — Bill straight, large, compressed, very much decurved towards
the point, basal half of both mandibles covered with feathers, grooved towards
the point, the superior mandible hooked, the under one forming with it a
salient angle. Nostrils lateral, marginal, linear, near the middle of the beak,
the aperture almost entirely closed by a membrane covered with feathers.
Wings short. Tail pointed. Legs short, very far back ; only three toes, all
in front, entirely webbed ; claws but slightly curved (p. 679).

Uria, Brisson. — Bill of moderate length, strong, straight, pointed, compressed ;
upper mandible slightly curved near the point, with a small indentation or
notch in the edge on each side. Nostrils basal, lateral, concave, pierced
longitudinally, partly closed by membrane, which is also partly covered with
feathers. Wings short, first quill the longest. Tail shorter than in Alca.
Legs short, slender, placed behind the centre of gravity in the body ; feet
with only three toes, all in front, and entirely webbed (p. 683).

Mergui.US, Vieillot. — Bill shorter than the head, thick, broader than high at the
base ; culmen arched ; upper mandible indistinctly grooved, under man-
dible with the symphysis very short and oblique, the tips of both notched ;
commissure arched. Nostrils lateral, round, situated at the base of the bill,
and partly covered with small feathers. Wings and tail short. Legs far
back, short ; feet with three toes, all directed forwards and united by a mem-
brane (p. 689).

Fratercula, Brisson. — Bill higher than long, much compressed ; both mandibles
arched, transversely grooved, notched towards the point. Nostrils lateral,
naked, almost entirely closed by a membrane. Wings and tail short. Legs
very far back ; feet with three toes only, all in front and fully webbed ; claws
curved (p. 691).

Family COLYMBID/E.

Colymbus, Lintuetis. — Bill about as long as the head ; strong, straight, rather
compressed, pointed. Nostrils basal, lateral, linear, perforate. W ings
short, the first quill the longest. Tail short and rounded. Legs thin, the
tarsi compressed, placed very far backwards, and closely attached to the
posterior part of the body ; toes three in front united by membranes, one
toe behind with a small membrane, articulated upon the tarsus ; the claws
flat (p. 693).

Family PODICIPEDID/E.

PoDIClPES, Latham. — Bill of moderate length, straight, hard, slightly com-
pressed, pointed, forming an elongated cone. Nostrils lateral, concave,
oblong, open in front and perforate, closed behind by a membrane. No true
tail. Wings short, first three primaries nearly equal, and the longest in the
wing. Legs and feet long, attached behind the centre of gravity ; tarsi very
much compressed ; three toes in front, one behind ; anterior toes very much
flattened, united at the base, surrounded by a lobated membrane ; hind toe
also flattened, articulated on the inner surface of the tarsus ; claws large,
flat (p. 701).

INTRODUCTION.

XXXIX

Order TUBINARES.

Family PROCELLARIID/E.

Fulmarus, Stephens. — Bill not so long as the head ; the upper mandible com-
posed of four portions, divided by lines or indentations, the whole together
large and strong, curving suddenly towards the point ; the under mandible
grooved along each side, bent at the end, with a prominent angle beneath ; the
edges of both mandibles sharp and cutting ; those of the lower mandible
shutting just within those above. Nostrils prominent along the upper ridge
of the upper mandible, but united, enclosed, and somewhat hidden within a
tube with a single external orifice, within which the division between the two
nasal openings is visible. Wings rather long, the first quill the longest in
the wing. Tarsi compressed, feet moderate ; three toes in front united by
membranes, hind toe rudimentary, with a conical claw (p. 711).

CEstrelata, Bonaparte. — Bill rather shorter than the head, stout, compressed,
straight for some distance, then ascending at the commencement of the unguis,
which is sharply decurved, with an acute tip ; nasal tubes moderately long,
elevated, conspicuous, the dorsal outline straight, the orifice subcircular.
Wings long and pointed, extending beyond the tail w'hen folded ; the first
quill a trifle longer than the second. Tail moderately long and graduated.
Tarsi reticulated ; feet and front toes of moderate size ; hind toe small and
elevated (p. 713'.

PUFFINUS, Brisson. — Bill rather longer than the head, slender ; mandibles com-
pressed and decurved. Nostrils tubular, with two separate orifices. Wings
long and pointed, the first quill slightly the longest. Tail graduated. Tarsi
compressed laterally ; three toes in front, rather long, webbed throughout ;
hind toe rudimentary (p. 7rS)-

Bulweria, Bonaparte. — Bill about as long as the head, stout at the base, com-
pressed, rising at the nail, which is large ; nostrils tubular, dorsal, rather
short. Wings long, pointed, the first quill slightly the longest. Tail long
and cuneate. Legs slender, the tibia bare for a short distance above the
joint ; tarsi reticulated ; hind toe minute, elevated ; feet fully webbed, the
inner toe shorter than the middle and outer toes, which are about equal ; claw's
curved (p. 723)-

Cymochorea, Coues.— Bill shorter than the head, moderately stout, com-
pressed, rising slightly at the nail, then decurved ; nostrils tubular, dorsal.
Wings long and narrow ; the first quill-feather shorter than the second —
which is the longest — and also than the third, and about equal to the
fourth. Tail long and deeply forked. Legs short, slender ; tarsi anteriorly
reticulate ; hind toe minute, front toes long and slender, webs slightly
emarginate (p. 725, as Oceanodroma).

Procellaria, Linnceus.— Bill small, robust, much shorter than the head,
straight to the nail, which is decurved ; nostrils dorsal. Wings long, narrow ;
the second quill-feather the longest, slightly exceeding the third ; the first
quill shorter than the fourth. Tail of moderate length, slightly rounded.
Legs moderate, the tarsi anteriorly reticulate, and a little longer than the feet ;
webs emarginate ; claws rather short (p. 727).

INTRODUCTION.

OCEANITES, Keyserling (Sr3 Blasius. — Bill small and weak, the nail gradually
decurved ; nasal tubes perfectly horizontal. Wings exceedingly long, the
second quill much the longest, the first quill being shorter than the fourth,
and slightly exceeding the fifth. Tail almost square. Legs long and slender,
bare for a considerable distance above the tarsal joint ; feet nearly as long
as the tarsi, membranes emarginate, hind toe absent (p. 729).

In answer to correspondents, it may be stated that : —

1. Round brackets indicate that the original describer of the species did not

employ the generic name now adopted.

2. The omission of Mr. or any other prefix to a proper name signifies

(in the present work) that the person mentioned is dead.

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BRITISH BIRDS.

THE MIOOBL-THRUSH.

Turdus viscfvoRUS, Linnaeus.

The Missel-Thrush, the largest indigenous species of the genus,
has, owing to the increase of plantations during the present century,
extended its breeding-range northward to Caithness and Suther-
land, and to most of the Hebrides ; though to the Orkneys it is only
a straggler, and has not yet been recorded from the Shetlands.
Unknown in Ireland until about the year 1800, it is now a resident
and increasing species there ; while in England and Wales it is
of general distribution, being commoner in the wooded districts.
Migration takes place from the colder portions of our islands in
autumn and winter, when large flocks arrive from the Continent.

It breeds from Bodb in Norway southward, throughout the
suitable portions of temperate Europe to the extremity of the
Spanish Peninsula, and even in Northern Africa ; eastward, in
Turkey, the Caucasus, the mountain forests of Asia Minor, Turkestan,

jmeshu

'fe+A.

MISSEL-THRUSH.

and the north-western Himalayas up to 9,000 feet : in the latter it
attains its palest colour and largest dimensions, and was formerly
distinguished as T. fiodgsoni. In temperate Siberia it is found
eastward to Lake Baikal ; migrating in winter to Northern India,
Persia, and Africa north of the Sahara.

In the south of England the Mi reel -Thrush sometimes begins to
breed in February, and even in the north it frequently has eggs in
March. The nest, which when placed in a wide fork of a tree has a
considerable foundation of mud, is lined with dry grasses and com-
posed externally of bents and lichens, but although the colour of the
latter may resemble that of the branch on which the structure
is placed — bushes being seldom resorted to — there is often no
attempt at concealment, d he eggs, 4—5 in number, are greenish to
tawny-white, blotched with reddish-brown and lilac : measurements
about 1-25 in. by '85 in. In the south two broods are generally
produced annually, but in the north the fine weather is too short
for more than one. From its habit of singing early in the year in
defiance of rough weather, the •Missel- Thrush is often called the
« Storm-cock ’ ; also the ‘ Holm-screech,’ from its partiality to the
berries of the Holm or Holly, and its harsh churr- ing note. Its
trivial name is probably a contraction of Mistletoe-Thrush, owing to
a widely-spread belief in its predilection for the berries of that para-
site ; but in Great Britain its food consists rather of berries of the
yew,5 holly, mountain-ash, hawthorn, ivy, &c., fruit when obtainable,
worms, snails and insects. Although shy of man, except when its
nest is approached, the Missel-Thrush is bold and tyrannical towards
other birds, fearlessly attacking Magpies, Jays, and other species
superior to it in size ; and occasionally it has even been known to
carry off nestlings. Its flight is rapid but jerky, and on the wing its
large size and generally grey appearance serve to distinguish it from

any other Thrushes.

Adult male: upper parts ash-brown ; under parts buffish-white,
with bold fan-shaped spots, smaller and more arrow-shaped on the
throat ; under wing-coverts and axillaries pure white ; bill horn-
brown, yellowish at the base ; legs pale brown. Length about inn.;
wing from the carpal joint 575 in. The female is slightly paler than
the male. In the young the arrow-shaped markings on the throat
and breast are more pronounced ; the upper wing-coverts broadly
tipped with white, and the under parts, especially the flanks, suffused
with golden-buff. In this plumage it has been mistaken for the rare
White’s Thrush, but its twelve tail-feathers distinguish it.

TURDIN/E,

THE SONG-THRUSH.

Turdus Mdsicus, Linnaeus.

The Song-Thrush — known in the North as the Throstle or the
Mavis — is generally distributed throughout the British Islands ; and
in summer it appears to be equally at home in the cultivated regions
of the south, or amongst the storm-swept, surf-lashed rocks of the
Outer Hebrides (where the birds are small and dark). In the Shet-
lands, however, it is of very rare occurrence, and has not yet been
known to nest. Especially in the north, a migratory movement
takes place in autumn among our native birds, while considerable
numbers then visit us from the Continent. Northwards the Song-
Thrush has straggled to the desolate island of Jan Mayen, between
Iceland and Spitsbergen ; and southwards to Madeira. From
within the Arctic circle in Norway its breeding-range extends across
Europe and Asia up to about 6o° N. lat., as far east as the Pacific ;
and southwards, throughout temperate Europe — sparingly and at
increasing elevations in the south — down to the Pyrenean chain, the
north of Italy, and the Caucasus. In winter, abandoning the colder
regions, it migrates in great numbers as far as Northern Africa,
Nubia, Asia Minor, and Persia.

The Song-Thrush is an early breeder, and young birds may some-

B 2

SONG-THRUSH.

times be found by the end of March. 1 he well-known nest, with its
smooth water-tight lining of rotten wood and dung, is generally
placed in the middle of a thick bush or among ivy, and not un-
frequently in a moss-covered bank ; occasionally, but rarely, on
level ground. The eggs, 4-6, are of a shining greeoish-blue,
blotched with black or rusty-brown ; spotless varieties being not un-
common : average measurements 1 in. by 78 in. Ihe female sits
very closely, and is assisted to some extent by the male in the task of

incubation, which lasts about a fortnight; two and sometimes three

broods being produced in the season ; the young, presumably of
the first, aiding in rearing the second. It is not a pugnacious bird.
The much-admired song, characterized by a distinct repetition of its
three or four component notes, may be heard on a warm bright day-
very early in the year ; continuing until the moulting season, and
being often resumed in autumn : it is frequently uttered on fine
nights. For nine months of the year the Song-Thrush feeds on wild
berries, insects, worms, and snails, the shells of the latter being broken
against some convenient stone ; but when fruit is ripe, the bird un-
doubtedly varies its diet, and in the vine-countries it feeds large y
on grapes. On the sea-coast whelks and other “shell-fish” are
eaten, and this may have something to do with the dark colour of
the Hebridean birds. Migration takes place at night, when Hoc -s
of this species drop suddenly and almost perpendicularly into wooded
places, where numbers are frequently snared for the table ; and an
interesting account of the tender ies aux Grives in Belgium, is to be
found in Gould’s ‘ Birds of Great Britain.’ It may be mentioned
that although the Song-Thrush is called “Mavis” in Scotland, ye
the French Man vis is the Redwing. As regards the duration of
life in the Song-Thrush, Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., informs me that
Mr. Bilham of Cromer, kept one for fifteen years.

Adult male: upper parts olive-brown, the wing-coverts t.pped
with buff; under parts whitish; tawny on the breast and sides
which with the ear-coverts and cheeks are streaked an spo
with dark brown; axillaries and under wing golden-buff, Ml ho
brown, yellowish at the base of the lower mandible legs pale
brown! Length about , in. ; wing 4*5 in. Female : rather smrd le
and paler on the under parts than the male. Young before f
moult mottled above with buff; afterwards like the parents, b
more golden-tinted. Albinism in varying degrees is not uncommon

in this species.

TURDIN/E.

THE REDWING.

Turdus iUacus, Linnceus.

The Redwing resembles a small Song-Thrush, but it may easily
be distinguished by the broad whitish streak over the eye, and by
the rich orange-red of the flanks and under-feathers of the wing :
whence the bird’s trivial name. The Redwing has been obtained
in this country on striking against lighthouses, from the beginning
of August onwards, but being less numerous and less gregarious than
the Fieldfare its arrival is not so soon noticed. Although the most
delicate of the European Thrushes, the Redwing can resist a con-
siderable amount of frost , but should this be followed by a heavy
fall of snow, such a combination of hardships proves very destruc-
tive. In winter, therefore, large numbers go past our shores to
suitable situations, as far even as the south of Europe and the north
of Africa, to which this species is a more abundant and regular
visitor than the Fieldfare. Westward the Redwing has straggled to
the Canaries and Madeira ; its winter range eastward extending to
the lower regions of the Caucasus, Persia, Turkestan, Northern
India, and Siberia as far as Lake Baikal. In the latter country its
breeding-range does not appear to reach much eastward of that
portion of the valley of the Yenesei which lies within the Arctic
circle ; but westward it extends through Russia north of about 540
N. lat. to Scandinavia. The nest is also said to have been found in

REDWING.

Poland, Austrian Galizia, and even in Anhalt near the Harz Moun-
tains. In our islands there is no satisfactory proof that this species
has ever bred, although individuals have been known to linger
throughout the summer ; and the late Dr. Saxby asserted that in
May, 1855, he watched a Redwing brooding on four eggs in North
Wales, but the bird was not obtained. Nor has it been proved to
breed in the Orkneys or the Shetlands ; but its nest has been found
by Herr Muller in the Faeroes, which are annually visited on its
migrations to and from Iceland. There the Redwing is generally
distributed during the short summer, being the only Thrush which
breeds in that island ; whence it occasionally straggles to Greenland.

In Norway, where owing to the Gulf stream the climate is com-
paratively warm, the Redwing sometimes breeds early in May, but
elsewhere later. In the forest-region the nest is placed on bushes
or low trees, and a colony of Fieldfares will frequently have a nest or
two of Redwings on the outskirts ; but in the barren districts, sloping
banks, hollows between stones, and low fences are selected. The
structure is composed of twigs and earth, lined with dried grasses,
and is frequently ornamented externally with lichens, especially
reindeer-moss. The eggs, generally 6, are of a peculiar and
evanescent green, closely streaked with fine reddish-brown, resem-
bling small varieties of the eggs of the Blackbird, but without the
bold markings of those of the Fieldfare : average measurements
•98 in. by 75 in. Two broods are frequently reared in the season.
The parents show great anxiety when the nest with young is ap-
proached, snapping their bills angrily as they flutter round the head
of the intruder. The song, which has been much, and perhaps
unduly eulogized, consists of several clear flute-like notes which
may be syllabled as trui, trui, trui, tritritri. The food consists of
insects, small snails, and berries, but to the latter the Redwing
seems to be somewhat less addicted than are its congeners. Its
flight is remarkably rapid.

Male : upper parts clove-brown ; wing-feathers rather darker, with
paler edges ; over the eye a conspicuous whitish streak ; under
parts dull white, broadly streaked with dark brown on the throat,
breast and part of the flanks, the inner portion of the latter
being of a rich orange-red ; under wing-coverts and axillaries
somewhat paler. Bill dark brown above, lighter at lower base ;
legs pale brown. Total length about 875 ; wing 4‘4 in. Female:
slightly duller than the male. Young: spotted on both upper and
under parts, and, after the first autumn moult, with well-defined pale
tips to the wing-coverts.

TURDIN/E.

Turdus pilaris, Linnaeus.

The Fieldfare is one of the regular visitors to our islands, the date
of its arrival depending upon the autumnal temperature in those
northern regions of Europe which form its principal breeding-ground.
In Scotland and in eastern England its appearance has been re-
corded from the middle of September onwards, but on the west side
and in Wales it is usually later, often coinciding with the arrival of
the Woodcock. Every one must be familiar with the large flocks of
Felts, “Blue Felts,” or “Felfers,” which during the winter are
generally distributed throughout the United Kingdom, seeking their
food over the fields and pasture-lands during open weather, and
resorting to the berry-producing hedges when frost hardens or snow
covers the ground. In backward springs the Fieldfare remains
until the middle of May, and, exceptionally, till the beginning of
June ; but there is no proof that it has ever nested in this country.

An irregular visitor to the Faeroes, it has straggled two or three times
to Iceland, and once even to the island of Jan Mayen. It breeds
abundantly in Scandinavia, Finland, Northern Russia, and Siberia
as far as the Lena ; in smaller numbers in Central Russia, the Baltic
provinces, and Poland ; and of late in Moravia, Bohemia, and
Bavaria ; while increasing colonies have established themselves in
Central Germany, especially near Halle on the Saale, and in Prussia.

FIELDFARE.

There are even grounds for believing that it nests in the wooded
portions of the Alps and the Pyrenees, but as yet proof of this is
wanting. Its migrations extend to the African side of the Mediter-
ranean, Asia Minor, Palestine, Persia, Turkestan, and Northern India.

In the forest regions of Northern Europe Fieldfares often breed
in large colonies, and in the midst of such an assemblage Mr. A. C.
Chapman found a nest with three eggs of the Merlin ! In birch
and fir woods the nest is in a fork between the trunk and a large
branch ; but further north, where the birds become less gregarious,
heaps of fire-wood, fences, shepherds’ huts, &c., are utilized , virile
on the treeless tundras of Siberia the nest is placed on the ground,
on the edge of a rock or a bank. In Poland breeding com-
mences in April, but in the north hardly before the latter part ot
May. The eggs, 4-6, sometimes 7, resemble very handsome Black-
bird’s, but they vary greatly, some being boldly blotched with reddish-
brown like Ring-Ouzel’s, while others have a light blue ground
colour: average dimensions 1*2 by ‘85 in. Ivvo broods are gene-
rally produced in the season. The old birds are very noisy when
the breeding-place is approached, uttering their harsh cries of tsak,
tsak ; the call-note or love song, uttered by the male when on the
wing, is a softer warbling qui , qui. The food of the young consists
principally of insects, until the wild strawberries and other fruits are
ripe ; and owing to its fondness for the juniper, this species is known
in Germany as the ‘ Wachholder-drossel.’ It generally roosts in trees ;
sometimes in reed-beds ; also on the ground in stubble-fields.

The young Fieldfare on leaving the nest is spotted on the back
like the young of other Thrushes, moulting again, as do the parents,
before migration. The birds arrive in this country with broad mar-
gins to the feathers of the lower parts, but by the following spring
these edges have disappeared and the spots become more clearly
defined, leaving the bird in its nuptial dress. This is slate-grey,
streaked with black on the head; mantle chestnut-brown; rump
slate-grey; wings and tail dark brown; throat and breast go en
brown streaked with black, the flanks boldly marked with very dark
brown ; centre of the belly white ; under wing-coverts and axillanes
pure white ; bill, which was darker in winter, is now yellow ; legs an
toes very dark brown. The female is somewhat duller in colour
than the male. Length fully 10 in. ; wing 57 in- Albinisms of this
Thrush are comparatively rare. Like many of its congeners, it ex-
hibits a few slender hair-like filaments projecting from the nape, and
to the accident of their being especially noticed in this species the
name pilaris is probably due.

TURDIN.E.

THE BLACK-THROATED THRUSH.

Turdus atrigulAris, Temminck.

A young male of this eastern species was obtained in the flesh by
i Mr. T. J. Monk of Lewes, shot near that town on December 23rd,

I 1868 ; and it is not improbable that other stragglers to this country may
: have been overlooked, for the species has several times occurred at
j no great distance from our shores. In December, 1886, an example

was obtained in Norway ; one has been taken in Denmark, two in
Heligoland, several in Northern Germany, Belgium, and France,
and at least three in Tyrol and Northern Italy. In Central and
ill Eastern Europe its occurrences, as might naturally be expected,

! become more frequent in proportion as its Siberian home is ap-
proached ; nevertheless it has only once been obtained in the Cauca-
! sian district, near Lenkoran. Beyond the Ural Mountains it becomes

I I more abundant, breeding in Eastern Turkestan up to an elevation of
4,000 feet, and probably in the valley of the Obb ; and although

! too late for eggs, Mr. Seebohm obtained three young not fully-
; fledged in the valley of the Yenesei between 6o° and 63° N. lat. ,
* early in August. Herr Tancre’s collectors have obtained a series of
j eggs in the Altai Mountains which “exhibit the same variation in

BLACK-THROATED THRUSH.

colour as the eggs of the Blackbird, and measure from x*z to 1*15 in.
in length, and from -8 to 75 in. in breadth” (Seebohm). Crossing
the lofty Pamir range in October, it winters in Western Turkestan,
Baluchistan, and India as far south as Assam ; its range extending
eastward to Lake Baikal. There it meets — and perhaps inter-breeds
with — the Red-throated Thrush, T. ruficollis, a species which has
straggled to Heligoland and Saxony.

The food of this species is stated by Dr. Scully to consist in
winter chiefly of the berries of the Eleagnus, called “jigda” in
Turkestan, whence its name of “ jigda-chuk,” i.e. “ jigda-eater ” ;
a diet varied with insects and worms. Favourite haunts in the
cold season are sandhills, low scrub, and trees bordering water-
courses. In summer Mr. Seebohm found that the Black-throated
Thrush showed a marked preference for pine-trees, and frequented
the neighbourhood of the banks of the river where the forest had
been cut down for fuel. The parents of the young which he obtained
showed great anxiety, making the woods resound with their alarm-
note. The song of this species, if it has any, appears to be un-
described.

The adult male in breeding-plumage has the throat and breast
black ; belly white, turning to greyish-brown on the sides and flanks ;
upper parts olive-brown, darker on the wings and tail. In winter
the throat-feathers have light margins, and the general plumage is
duller. Young males resemble the adult female, in which the
feathers of the throat and breast are not completely black, but have
merely dark centres, forming a streaked gorget ; under parts dull
creamy-white. In both sexes the under-wing and axillaries are
golden-buff. Bill dark brown above, pale below ; legs and feet
pale brown. Length about 9-5 in., wing 5-45 in.

The American Migratory Thrush, Turdus migratorius, commonly
called in its native country ‘ the Robin,’ owing to its ruddy breast,
has been obtained at Dover (Zool. 1877, p. 14) ; but like the Wydah-
bird and other exotic species obtained in that locality, it had pro-
bably escaped from some ship passing through the narrow seas, and
the species cannot be considered to have a claim to a place in the
British list. It has occurred once at Heligoland, which is on the
high road of vessels for Bremen and Hamburg ; and it is not unfre-
quently brought to Europe as a cage-bird.

TURD1N/E.

I I

WHITE’S THRUSH.

Turdus varius, Pallas.

This boldly-marked species, rather larger than the Missel-Thrush,

( belongs to a group known as the ‘ Ground ’ Thrushes ( Geocichla ),

■• characterized by a partiality for woodland glades, where insects,
| their principal food, are obtained among the dead leaves on the
! humid soil. Owing to this habit, their large size, mottled plumage, and
|| low undulating flight, several of the White’s Thrushes obtained in this
country have at first been mistaken for Woodcocks. The earliest
recorded British example was shot in January, 1828, in Hampshire;
receiving a scientific as well as a trivial name in honour of White of
I'-Selborne, from Eyton, who supposed the species to be undescribed.
KOthers have since been obtained in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset,
f Gloucestershire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Yorkshire, and Durham ; once in
! ’Berwickshire; and in Ireland in counties Cork, Longford, and Mayo.
Most of these occurrences have been in the winter, and only one
in October; but on Pleligoland about a dozen have been recorded :
in September and October, and on the return migration up to the
23rd of April. On the Continent, stragglers have been obtained,
mostly in autumn, from Norway and Sweden southwards to Italy
!and the foot of the Pyrenees. The true home of White’s, or as it

WHITES THRESH.

might be more appropriately called the “ Golden ” Thrush, extends
eastward through Siberia from about the line of Krasnoiarsk on the.
Yenesei to Lake Baikal and Northern China ; the winter migrations
reaching to Southern China, the Philippine Islands, and even
Sumatra. In Japan Captain Blakiston says that the ‘ Nuyejinai,’ as
it is called, is common in Yokohama market in winter, and having
been obtained in July on the volcano of Fuji, it was probably
breeding there. A nest built on a pine-branch, close to which a
pair of birds were seen, was obtained by Swinhoe near Ningpo, and
one of the eggs figured by Mr. Seebohm (‘ British Birds,’ pi. 8)
has a greenish-white ground with minute reddish spots : measure-
ments i -2 by ‘9 in. Although White’s Thrush is mostly insectivorous,
in China banyan and other berries are consumed. Its note is a
soft plaintive see, audible at a long distance.

In the adult the bill is brownish ; legs and feet yellowish-brown ;
upper plumage yellowish-brown tipped with black, darker on the
wings ; under parts white tinged with buff, and boldly marked with
black crescentic spots ; a distinct light-coloured patch in the middle
of the underside of the wing', tail of fourteen feathers, the cential
four yellowish-brown and the rest dark brown, all tipped with white.
Length 12 in. ; wing 6 '45 in. An Australian species, T. lunulatus,
with only twelve tail-feathers, has not unfrequently been passed off
as White’s Thrush.

An example of the Siberian Thrush ( T. sibtricus, Pallas), said to
have been shot in Surrey in the winter of 1860-61, and originally
supposed to be a melanism of the Redwing, is in the collection of
Mr. F. Bond ; and I fully believe that another was picked up ex-
hausted at Bonchurch, I. of Wight, in the winter of 1874; but the
evidence is not sufficient to warrant the introduction of this species
into the British list. Like White’s Thrush, it has the light-coloured
patch on the underside of the wing, characteristic of the genus
Geocichla. The adult male is dark slate-grey, with a conspicuous
white eye-streak, and white abdomen; the female is olive-brown
above, and whitish-buff barred with brown beneath ; both sexes
having white patches at the tips of the tail-feathers. Stragglers have
occurred as near our shores as Germany, Belgium and 1* ranee.

TURDIN/E.

THE BLACKBIRD.

Turdus merula, Linnaeus.

The Blackbird, “ the Ouzel-cock so black of hue ” of Shake-
■ speare, is of general distribution throughout the British Islands,

; where it may be considered as a resident, excepting in some of the
. Outer Hebrides and the Shetlands, to which it is chiefly an autumn
. and winter visitor. Like the Missel-Thrush and probably for the
! same reasons, the Blackbird has spread northward and westward of
late years ; in some places, as at Gairloch in Ross-shire, supplanting
: the Ring-Ouzel ; while in addition to our native-bred birds, some of
which are, perhaps, partially migratory, large flocks visit us in
autumn and winter. .

In the Faeroes the Blackbird has occurred in spring; it un-
doubtedly straggled to Iceland in the winter of 1877, and once to the
island of Jan Mayen. About 67° N. lat. in Norway appears to be its
highest breeding-range ; south of which it is found nesting down to the
Azores, Madeira, the Canaries, both sides of the Mediterranean, Asia
Minor, and even in the sultry depths of the Ghor in Palestine. In
Russia it does not appear to range further north or east than the
valley of the Volga ; being represented in Turkestan, Afghanistan,
and Cashmere by a larger resident species or form, which Mr.

BLACKBIRD.

Seebohm calls Merula maxima. In winter its numbers in southern
countries are considerably increased by migrants from the north.

The usual nesting-places selected by the Blackbird are bushes,
especially evergreens and hedge-rows ; occasionally the ground ; but
the nest differs from that of the Thrush in being lined with dried
grasses. The eggs, 4-6, are of a greenish-blue, spotted and streaked
with reddish-brown : average measurements it by -85 in. Blue
varieties resembling eggs of the Starling are sometimes met with,
but it is well known that the Blackbird and the Song-Thrush occa-
sionally inter-breed, and these blue eggs may be the result of such a
union, upon which Mr. R. M. Christy has a valuable paper (Tr.
Norw. Soc. iii. p. 588). Several broods are hatched during the
season, the first often by the end of March. The old birds are
much more shy during the breeding-season than the Song-Thrush,
but the cock, especially at pairing-time, is very quarrelsome. The
food consists of worms, insects and their larvre, slugs and snails,
with seeds, hawthorn- and other berries in winter, and fruit in
summer. The Blackbird’s powerful song makes it a favourite for
the cage, and it is further gifted with a considerable power of
mimicry; while its noisy, rattling alarm-note, as it flits from the
hedge-rows or copses to which it is partial, must be familiar to every
one. A peculiarity by which the Blackbird may be recognized, even
in a bad light, is its habit of sharply raising its tail the moment it
perches. As in the case of the Song-Thrush, the young of this
species sometimes assist the parents in feeding the second brood.

Adult male : entire plumage glossy-black ; bill and edges of the
eyelids yellow ; legs and feet brownish-black. Length about 10 in. ;
wing 4‘9 in. Female : umber-brown, pale and more rufous on the
throat and breast, with darker streaks — some mountain forms being
exceptionally light-coloured ; bill and legs brownish. Young males
can be distinguished in the nest by their stouter bill and darker hue,
especially along the carpal joint ; and if a few of the first brown
feathers of the breast be pulled out, they will be reproduced of a
black colour. Later, the plumage is blackish-brown above, with
pale shaft-streaks ; under parts lighter. Even after assuming the
adult plumage, young males of the year have blackish bills. Albinos
and pied varieties of the Blackbird are by no means uncommon.

TURDIN/E.

THE RING-OUZEL.

Turdus torquatus, Linnaeus.

The Ring-Ouzel is the only Thrush which is entirely absent from
our islands during the winter ; for although, in exceptionally mild
years, individuals have been known to remain as late as Christmas,
the majority leave in September and October the wilder and more
elevated districts in which they have passed the summer ; and, after a
comparatively short stay in the lowlands to feed upon the autumnal
berries, they depart for the south. In April the Ring-Ouzel returns,
and pairs are said to have nested occasionally in Hampshire, Suffolk,
Norfolk, Warwickshire, and similar counties, but as a rule its
breeding-places are in the wild and hilly districts of Cornwall, Devon,
Somersetshire, the Pennine backbone of England and its spurs ;
Wales ; and the greater part of Scotland, including most of those
islands which present suitable features, except the Orkneys and the
Shetlands, to which it is comparatively a rare visitor. In Ireland it
frequents the mountainous districts in limited numbers during the
summer.

In Scandinavia it breeds from about 58° N. lat. northward, while
eastward it is found in suitable localities as far as portions of the
Ural Mountains, beyond which the steppes appear to act as a
barrier. It is said to breed sparingly in the south of Holland

RING-OUZEL.

and Belgium ; and undoubtedly does so in the elevated districts
of France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and Southern Russia,
frequenting the rhododendron-region of the Caucasus nearly up
to the snow-line, and, according to Radde, remaining even in
winter at a lower elevation in that chain; also in Asia Minor. It
likewise nests in the Pyrenees, where, from the date of its spring
arrival, it is known as the ‘ Pie de Mars’; and in the Sierra Nevada
in the south of Spain. On migration it is found in varying numbers
over almost the whole of Europe and in Northern Africa ; visiting
Lower Egypt, Syria, and Persia. Birds which breed in the mountains
of Central and Southern Europe have more white on both upper and
under wing, and have been segregated as T. cilpestris (C. L. Brehm).

On our moors the Ring-Ouzel begins to breed in the latter part of
April, making a nest similar to that of a Blackbird, in the tall ling
and heather, on the ledges of rocks, or in broken banks ; sometimes
at a moderate distance underneath fallen rocks ; the sides of
a stream or watercourse being a favourite locality ; occasionally
stunted bushes are selected. The eggs, 4, seldom 5, are greenish-
blue, flecked and spotted with reddish-brown ; bolder and hand-
somer as a rule than those of the Blackbird, and more like those of
the Fieldfare: average measurements i'i by "85 in. Not unfre-
quently a second brood is produced in July. Few birds are bolder
when their young are approached, the parents flying round the
intruder, uttering their sharp alarm-note of tac-tac-tac, iac-tac-tac , but
the song is somewhat monotonous and derives its principal charm
from the scenery in which it is heard. 1 he food consists of worms,
slugs, and insects ; the bird being also partial to moorland berries
and those of the rowan or mountain-ash. It frequently descends to
gardens in the vicinity of its haunts, and is extremely bold in its
attacks upon the fruit ; while in the vine-countries it feeds largely
on grapes.

Adult male : upper parts brownish-black, the outer margins of
the wing-feathers grey ; under parts also blackish, except a broad
white gorget ; under wing-coverts and axillaries mottled with grey
and white ; bill black at the tip, the rest yellowish ; legs and feet
brownish-black. Length about n in. ; wing 5 '5 in. Adult female,
lighter and browner, with a narrower and duller gorget, scarcely per-
ceptible in young females. A cock, little more than a nestling, in
the British Museum, shot in Nairnshire on 1st September, is blacker
than any adult. In autumn both sexes have the feathers conspicu-
ously margined with grey.

TURDIN/K.

THE ROCK-THRUSH.

Monti'cola saxatilis (Linnteus).

The claim of the Rock-Thrush to a place in the British list rests
upon an example shot on the 19th May, 1843, at Therfield, in Hert-
fordshire, and figured as above by the late Mr. Yarrell, who ex-
amined it before it was skinned. Some other occurrences are
recorded, but are not authenticated. The bird in question had no
doubt deviated on its spring migration to the westward of its usual
course ; but some of its regular haunts are at no great distance from
our shores ; the species being a yearly summer-visitor to the central-
and side- valleys of the Rhine, Moselle, Upper Meuse, and some
portions of Alsace. It also breeds sparingly in the Hartz Mountains,
Thuringia, and other suitable situations in Germany ; while it has
straggled to Belgium, and six times to Heligoland. In Switzerland
and southwards it is generally distributed throughout suitable rocky
districts, although often local ; and where, as in Southern Spain and
Northern Africa, its congener the Blue Rock-Thrush ( Monticola
eyanus ) predominates, it retires to higher ground. From the Carpa-
thians eastward it breeds in Greece, Turkey, Southern Russia, Asia
Minor, Persia, Turkestan, Southern Siberia, Mongolia, and North

ROCK-THRUSH.

China; its migrations extending to the Gambia on the west coast of
Africa, Egypt, Nubia, Abyssinia, and the south of Arabia ; also to
Thibet, Northern India, and Upper Burma.

The nest is placed in a hole among rocks, vineyard-walls, forti-
fications or ruins, and occasionally in a tree-stump. Moss, roots,
and dried grass— without any clay— with a finer lining of bents, are
the materials employed ; and the eggs, 4-5, are pale greenish-blue,
sometimes slightly specked with light brown : average measurements
1 in. by 75 in. Two broods are often reared in the year, incubation
commencing in May ; and the parents display considerable anxiety
when the nest is approached. The Rock-Thrush has a sweet and
varied song, and being also an excellent mimic, it is highly esteemed
as a cage-bird. During courtship the male from time to time rises
singing into the air ; then drops down almost vertically, and travels
for some distance along the rocks. In fact all the Rock-Thrushes
in their mode of nesting and in many of their actions resemble the
Wheatears or Chats, thus forming a link with the true 1 brushes,
from which they differ in the comparative shortness of the legs and
tails. The food consists of earth-worms, snails, insects and their

larvae, and wild berries.

Adult male : head, neck, and throat greyish-blue, passing into
blackish-blue on the upper back ; a white patch covers the centre
of the back and dorsal scapulars; wings dark brown; lower back
bluish-slate, mottled with grey ; tail-feathers chestnut, the two centre
ones brown ; under parts bright chestnut ; bill black ; legs and
feet brown. Length 7-5 in.; wing to end of the 3rd and longest
primary 475 in., the bastard primary being very small. In winter
the white patch is less conspicuous, and the feathers have lighter
margins. The young male, late in September, is much mottled with
light° brown and slate-grey on the upper parts ; no white patch on
the back ; wing-feathers and coverts broadly tipped with buffish-
white ; breast and abdomen chestnut barred with black, and with

broad whitish edges which gradually wear off.

Female • spotted brown above, with but little grey about the head
and back ; chin and throat whitish ; lower parts orange-buff marbled
with brown ; tail chestnut.

The Blue Rock-Thrush (Monticola cyanus ) was erroneously re-
corded by Mr. Blake-Knox as having occurred at Westmeath m
Ireland: for complete refutation of the statement, see ‘ The Zoolo-
gist,’ 1880, p. 67.

TURDIN/E.

Sax (cola cenanth^ (Linnteus).

The Wheatear, one of the first of our spring-visitors, usually
arrives in the second week in March ; any birds seen earlier being
probably those which, as exceptions, have wintered in mild portions of
our islands. From early spring onwards the Wheatear is to be seen,
jerking its white tail as it flits along uttering its sharp c/iack, chack,
on open downs, warrens, and the poorer land ; ascending the moun-
tains almost to the highest summits. Numbers still frequent our
South Downs, especially on migration in August; but by the be-
ginning of October nearly all have left us. In summer it is very
widely distributed, ranging to the Fteroes, Iceland, Jan Mayen and
Greenland ; while it has straggled to 8o° N. lat. (Feilden), and to

THE WHEATEAR.

c 2

WHEAT EAR.

910 W. long. Greenland appears to be the breeding-place of a large
race which passes through our islands from the middle of April on-
wards, and seems to be somewhat addicted to perching on trees.
Our ordinary form breeds throughout Europe, Siberia, Mongolia, and,
at suitable elevations, in Asia Minor and Algeria ; it has also, of late
years, established itself in the Azores. The smallest examples are
found in Syria. Its winter migrations extend to a little south of the
Equator ; crossing Bering’s Sea from Kamschatka it visits Alaska ;
while as a straggler it has occurred in Colorado, the eastern portions
of the United States and Canada, and the Bermudas.

About the middle of April the loose nest of dry grass, lined with
rabbits’ fur, hair, and feathers, is placed in rabbit-burrows, crevices
of stone walls, peat-stacks on the moors, or under rocks and fallow-
clods ; the eggs, 5-6, often 7, being of a very pale blue, some-
times minutely dotted with purple : average measurements -8 by
•6 in. Two broods are produced in the season. The old birds are
wary and do not easily betray the situation of their treasure. The
song of the male, often uttered on the wing, is rather pretty , and the
bird also displays considerable powers of imitating other species.
Its food consists of small spiders, insects — often captured flying
and their larvce.

The name has no connection with wheat, but is a corruption of
white, , and of the Anglo-Saxon ars, for which the modern equivalent
is ‘rump’; and in fact as “white-rumps’ this species and its con-
geners are known in every European language.

Adult male in summer : forehead and eye-streak white ; lores and
ear-coverts black ; head, neck and back grey ; wings nearly black ;
rump white; the two central tail-feathers black nearly to the base,
the others white with broad black tips ; under parts white, with only
a faint tinge of buff on the throat in old birds ; under wing-coverts
and axillaries mottled with dark grey and white ; bill, legs and
feet black. In autumn the new feathers are so broadly margined with
rufous-brown that the male much resembles the female ; and even on
the spring arrival many of the upper feathers still retain buff mar-
gins. Length 6 in. ; wing to tip of 3rd and longest quill, 375 in-
The female differs in having the ear-coverts dark brown; upper parts
hair-brown ; under parts buff : not unlike the south-eastern A. tsaM-
lina , in which, however, the under wing-coverts are white. 1 he
young are slightly spotted above and below, with buff tips and
margins to the tail- and wing- feathers.

TURD1N/E.

SAxfcoLA isabelli'na, Riippell.

While the above sheets were in the press, my friend the Rev.
H. A. Macpherson brought to me in the flesh for identification a bird
shot by Mr. Thomas Mann, on a ploughed field, quite alone, at
Allonby, Cumberland, on nth November 1887. It proved to be
the Isabeiline Wheatear, and was exhibited at a meeting of the
Zoological Society on 6th December. This south-eastern bird
had not previously been recorded from Heligoland or any part of
Western Europe, but it so closely resembles the female of the pre-
vious species that it might easily escape notice. When I mentioned
(p. 20) one of its distinguishing characteristics as being the white
under wing, I had no presentiment that the test would so soon be
invoked. The bird, a female, is figured above.

The Isabeiline Wheatear is an early spring-visitor to South-eastern
Russia,, especially the province of Astrachan and the arid plains of
the Caspian, and to Asia Minor ; whence, after breeding, it takes
its departure in autumn ; but in Palestine, Egypt, Eastern Africa
down to Somali- and Masai-land, Abyssinia, and Arabia, it appears

THE ISABELLINE WHEATEAR.

ISABELLINE WHEATEAR.

to be a resident. Eastward it is found in summer across Siberia
south of 56° N., and Central Asia up to 10,000 feet above sea-level,
to Northern China and the Upper Amoor ; migrating to Northern
India, &c.

The nest is generally placed in burrows ; those of such rodents
as Lagomys ogototia and Spermophilus eversmanni being utilized on the
steppes of Daiiria ; while near Smyrna the extensive tunnels formed
by the Asiatic mole-rat ( Spalax typhlus ) afford a convenient retreat.
The eggs are pale blue, similar to those of the Common Wheatear,
but a trifle larger : measurements '82 by '65 in. Breeding com-
mences in February in Abyssinia; while by the middle of May
young are to be found nearly fledged in Asia Minor. Two
broods are probably reared in the season, as Canon Tristram found
eggs in Palestine in June. Mr. Danford, who observed this Vvheatear
frequenting barren ground, bushy hillsides, and even fir-woods in
Asia Minor, where it arrived March 9th, describes its notes as very
peculiar, “ the most striking being a cry resembling that of a Sand-
piper, which is uttered as the bird descends, after its hovering flight
and lark-like song.” The call-note is zri, zri, zri.

Adult male : upper parts pale sandy-brown ; a huffish-white streak
from the base of the bill upwards to the back of the eye ; lores
black ; ear-coverts pale brown ; upper tail-coverts white ; the two
central tail-feathers blackish-brown almost to their bases which are
white ; the remainder white for the basal third of the length, and
blackish-brown, narrowly tipped and margined with buff, on the
lower two-thirds ; wings brown, edged with buff, especially on the
secondaries and coverts ; under parts buffish-white, deeper on the
neck and breast; under wing-coverts and axillaries white ; the under-
side of the quills being also conspicuously paler than in the Com-
mon Wheatear. Bill and legs black. Length 6‘5 in. ; wing to
the tip of the 3rd and longest quill, 3 ‘9 in- ; tarsus 1*2 in.
Female : duller in plumage and slightly smaller than the male.
Young : streaked with dark brown on the head, neck and breast ;
wings and tail broadly margined with rufous-buff. In autumn, as
with other Wheatears, the buff margins to the wing-feathers are very
pronounced.

The distinguishing characteristics of the Isabelline Wheatear may
be thus summed up : — it is larger, more tawny, and has more black
in its comparatively short tail than any Common Wheatear; the
colour of the under-wing is much lighter, and the bill and tarsi are
longer.

TURDIN/E.

THE BLACK-THROATED WHEATEAR.

Saxicola STAPAzfNA, Yieillot.

A specimen of this handsome South-European species was shot
about the 8th of May 1875, near Bury in Lancashire, and sub-
sequently recorded by Mr. R. Davenport, who, as should always
be done in the case of such rare visitors, sent the specimen for
exhibition at a meeting of the Zoological Society (P. Z. S. 1878,
pp. 881, 977). It was a male in adult plumage.

Although some occurrences formerly recorded under this name in
Heligoland were really those of the Desert Wheatear, yet the
present species has since been obtained there once, and observed
oftener. In France it breeds regularly about as far north as the line
of the Loire ; southward, in the Spanish Peninsula, Morocco, Algeria
and Italy. In the latter country it meets with S. melanoleuca , Giil-
denstiidt : a form which some ornithologists consider to be specifi-
cally distinct, characterized by a whiter back and larger amount o
black on the throat. This form occupies Greece, South Russia,
Asia Minor, Palestine and Persia ; both races migrating wholly or
partially to more southern regions in winter. Ihe extremes of each
are distinguishable in adult males, but there appear to be numerous
intergradations, and I have therefore treated the bird under one
heading.

BLACK-THROATED WHEATEAR.

The Black-throated Wheatear is very common in Southern
Europe from the middle of March ; making a loose nest of bents
and grass in holes and crevices, especially in old ruins ; and Mr.
Seebohm found it breeding in the Parnassus up to an elevation of
3,000 feet. The eggs, rather elliptical-ovate in shape, are of a pale
sea-green colour, freckled with brown : measurements, 75 by ’6 in.
In song, habits and food, it resembles the Common Wheatear. The
name stapazina refers to its noisy scolding note.

The adult male in spring has the forehead white, the crown and
upper back golden-buff, becoming paler as the season advances ;
throat, lores and ear-coverts black ; wings nearly black ; lower back
white ; the two central tail-feathers black almost to their bases,
the rest white, margined with an amount of black which is subject
to great diminution and partial disappearance with age ; under parts
buffish-white ; under wing-coverts black ; bill, legs and feet black.
In July and August, when the autumn moult takes place, the crown,
nape, upper back and breast are rich buff ; the wing-coverts and
secondaries broadly margined with pale buff. Length 5‘6 in. ; wing
3 -6 in. The female differs in having the throat merely mottled with
black ; the head streaked with hair-brown ; upper back sandy-
brown ; wings dark brown ; under parts dirty buff. The young
resemble the female in general, but are rather more rufous ; and they
have less white in the tail than the adults of the respective sexes.

To obviate the perpetuation of confusion, I may remark that the
species here described is the one which Mr. Dresser in his ‘ Birds
of Europe ’ called “ Saxicola ruja (Russet Chat) ” ; but the bird was
re-instated under its old and well-known name by the Committee of
the British Ornithologists’ Union. LTnfortunately Mr. Dresser has
transferred the specific name stapazina to the Eared \\ heatear,
S. albicollis (Vieill.), S. aurita (Temm.) : another southern species,
which has not straggled to our islands, although erroneously entered
in the British list by Mr. W. E. Clarke (Cat. Yorkshire Vertebs. p. 19);
a mistake copied by Messrs. Harvie-Brown and Buckley in their
recent ‘Fauna of Sutherland, Caithness and West Cromarty.’

TURKIX/E.

THE DESERT WHEATEAR.

Saxi'cola deserti, Riippell.

Although the Desert Wheatear has a still more southern habitat
than the preceding species, it has undoubtedly been obtained on
i two occasions in Great Britain. The first example, a male in
autumn plumage, shot on the 26th November 1880, near Alloa in
■ Clackmannanshire, was sent for exhibition at a meeting of the Zoo-
! logical Society (P. Z. S. 1881, p. 453), by its owner, Mr. J. J. Dal-
gleish ; the second, a bird in female plumage, obtained on the
Holderness coast, Yorkshire, 17th October 1885, was sent for
exhibition by Mr. W. Eagle Clarke (P. Z. S. 1885, p. 835). Three
stragglers have been obtained on Heligoland: a male on 26th Oc-
tober 1856; a female on 4th October 1857 (these being originally
and erroneously recorded as N. stapazina ) ; and an adult male in
full breeding-plumage, 23rd June 1880. The above appear to be
the only records of its occurrence in Europe.

As implied by its name, the home of this species is to be found
in the dry, sandy regions of North Africa, Egypt, Nubia, Arabia,
Palestine, Persia, the plains of Turkestan up to an elevation of over
12,000 feet, and the mountain ranges to the north of Cashmere.

DESERT WHEATEAR.

In winter it occurs in North-western India, Scind, Baluchistan,
Southern Persia, Soraali-land and Abyssinia. Mr. J. H. Gurney,
junr., describes it as the most universally distributed species of the
genus in the Algerian Sahara.

The nest of the Desert Wheatear is placed in crevices of rocks,
walls of wells, in burrows, or under bushes. The eggs are of a
greenish-blue, paler than those of the Black-throated Wheatear, with
liver-coloured spots round the larger end : measurements 75 by ‘5
in. The food appears to be ants and other insects ; the stomach of
the one shot at Alloa contained small flies. In its movements it is
even more restless than the Common Wheatear ; and its song is
said to be short and pleasing. The individuals observed by
Mr. J. H. Gurney, junr., were estimated by him as being in the
proportion of about eight in male plumage to one in female dress.

The male in spring has the crown sandy-grey, shading into buff on
the back and lower wing-coverts ; secondaries, brown in the centre,
with pale margins ; primaries blackish, with light margins to the
inner webs, very conspicuous on the underside ; under wing-coverts
and axillaries black tipped with white ; tail-coverts white ; tail black
almost to the base ; under parts white, washed with buff on the
breast ; throat and sides of neck to shoulders black ; a whitish
streak above and behind the eye. Bill, legs and feet black ; the
latter small for the size of the bird. Length 6 in. ; wing to
the tip of 3rd and longest quill 3-85 in. The female is duller
and greyer on the upper parts ; wings brown, the under surface
buff: and the black throat is absent. The young is like that of
S. stapazina , except for its characteristic blackish-brown tail, and
larger size.

The members of this group are frequently denominated ‘ Chats,
but I have used the term ‘ Wheatear ’ to emphasize the difference
between the longer-tailed, white-rumped species, and the shorter-
tailed, streaked-rumped ‘ Bush-chats ’ of the genus Pratincola. The
latter are considered so distinct by Mr. R. B. Sharpe that he has
even gone the length of placing them among the Flycatchers
( Muscicapidte) .

TURD1N/K.

THE WH INC HAT.

PratIncola rubetra (Linnaeus).

The Whinchat generally arrives in the southern portions of our
i islands by the middle of April, but it seldom reaches the north before
1 the beginning of May; after which, until its departure for the south
; in the early part of October, it is fairly distributed throughout Eng-
land and Wales, although somewhat local in the west; becoming
1 rare in Cornwall, and only occurring in the Scilly Islands during the
. autumnal migration. In Scotland, although absent in some districts,

; it may be said to range from the border counties to Caithness, and
is very common in Sutherlandshire ; it occurs in the Outer Hebrides
. and the Orkneys ; and Mr. A. H. Evans identified it in the summer
of 1887 in the Shetlands. To Ireland it is a rare and local summer-
visitor.

A very rare straggler to the Faeroes, the Whinchat breeds from
about 70° N. lat. in Scandinavia southwards, in suitable localities, in
many parts of Northern and Central Europe ; and, seeking in the
mountains appropriate climatic conditions, it nests as far south as
Sicily. In the countries bordering the Mediterranean it is, however,
principally a migrant ; wintering in Africa down to Fantee on the
west side, and Abyssinia on the east ; also in Arabia, Asia Minor,
and Northern India. The Ural Mountains appear to form its eastern
boundary in European Russia.

The breeding-season is from the beginning of May : the nest is
on the ground, or at most a few inches above it, among the stems of

WHINCHAT.

a thick furze-bush, or in coarse herbage and thick meadow-grass.
It is a loose structure of dry grass and moss, with a lining of
finer materials ; the eggs, usually 6 in number, being greenish-blue,
sometimes dotted or zoned with rust-colour : average measurements,
•72 by ‘6 in. The call-note is a sharp ii-tick , and the bird has also
an agreeable song, uttered on the wing or while sitting on some low
branch, accompanied with a fanning movement of the tail. Although,
like the Stonechat, it frequents heaths and commons, the two species
are seldom abundant in the same neighbourhood ; and, when obtain-
able, the Whinchat exhibits a partiality for pastures, whence its local
name of ‘ Grasschat.' Its food consists of beetles, flies, and other
insects — often sought for late in the evening ; worms, especially the
wire-worm, and small mollusks. It roosts on the ground.

The adult male has the lores, ear-coverts and cheeks dark brown ;
a clear white streak above the eye ; crown and upper parts mottled
with about equal proportions of sandy-buff and dark brown, more
rufous on tail-coverts ; base of tail white (except the two central
feathers, which are dark brown), terminal-half dark brown, tipped
and margined with buff ; wing brown, the upper part showing a con-
spicuous white patch contrasted against a nearly black outer portion
of the coverts ; a smaller white patch on spurious wing ; bastard
primary smaller than in the Stonechat ; under parts buff, turning to
bright fawn-colour on the breast and throat ; chin white, with a streak
of the same running below the blackish cheeks to the sides of the
neck. Bill black (stouter than in the Stonechat), legs and feet black.
Length 5-25 in.; wing to the end of the 3rd and longest primary
29 in.

The female is duller in colour, the speculum smaller ; the eye-
streak buff; the upper breast slightly spotted. The young have the
feathers margined with rufous and buff ; the breast much more
spotted than in the female, which otherwise they resemble. By
September the young males have the wing-patches well defined.

In autumn the Whinchat assumes a duller plumage, leading to
confusion with the Stonechat ; and to this, perhaps, may be ascribed
the records of the occurrence of the former in winter in the British
Islands. In spring, according to Herr Meves and other observers,
it not only loses the paler tips of the feathers by abrasion, but has a
distinct moult. This is an exception to the rule among the Turdmce.
White and pied varieties of this bird have been obtained.

turdinte.

THE STONECHAT.

PratIncola RURfcoLA (Linnteus).

Unlike the preceding migratory species, the Stonechat is a resi-
dent in the greater part of our islands, although a partial migration
takes place from the colder to the more sheltered situations in
winter ; at which season there is an influx of visitors from those
parts of the Continent where the climate is too severe to allow of a
stay. It is somewhat local in its distribution, and also erratic ; fre-
quenting a place for a few seasons, and then suddenly abandoning it.
Although rare in the Orkneys and Shetlands, it is found to the ex-
treme limits of the Outer Hebrides, for I observed it on St. Kilda
in August 1886. In Ireland it is common and resident.

The northern range of the Stonechat in Europe is not nearly so
extensive as that of the Whinchat, and scarcely reaches to the south
of Sweden j while in the north of Germany the bird is uncommon
and of irregular distribution. Even in Central Europe it is unac-
countably local, but in the south it is common, breeding in Spain
even in the hot plains below Seville. Migrants from the north go
down in winter to the shores and islands of the Mediterranean,
North Africa, Asia Minor and Palestine ; and examples have been
obtained to the south of Senegal. In South Africa the representative
species is P. torquata , with white rump and deeper chestnut on the
breast ; North-eastern Africa is inhabited by P. hemprichi , with more
white than black in the tail ; while east of the valley of the Volga
the place of our species is taken by P. maura, characterized by a

3°

STONECHAT.

white rump and the predominance of black in the under wing-
coverts and axillaries.

I he nest, constructed early in April, is concealed amongst the
herbage on broken ground, or at the foot of some thick furze or
other bush, and is composed of dry grass and moss with a lining of
bents, hair, and feathers. The five or six eggs are of a bluish-green
(greener than those of the Whinchat), spotted and zoned with pale
reddish-brown : average measurements 7 by ‘58 in. The parent
birds display considerable anxiety when the nest is approached,
flitting from bush to bush and uttering a sharp chack, but it
requires great patience to eye the female to her nest. Two broods
are produced during the season. The song, commenced early in
the spring, continues until the latter part of June, and, although
short, is rather pleasing ; but the scolding note, h-weet , jur, jur,
uttered by the male as, conspicuous by his black head, white neck,
and ruddy breast, he darts from spray to spray on some furze-covered
moor, is the most familiar indication of the presence of this sprightly
bird. The insect-prey of the Stonechat, including small moths and
butterflies, is often taken on the wing ; grubs, worms and beetles
forming its principal diet, with the addition of a few seeds.

Adult male in May : — the head, throat, nape and back, black ;
the feathers of the latter edged with brown ; tail-coverts white,
spotted with dark brown ; tail and wings dark brown ; a conspicuous
white patch on the wing-coverts ; sides of the neck white ; breast
bright rufous, lighter on the abdomen ; under wing-coverts and
axillaries mottled black and white ; bill, legs and feet black. In
autumn the under parts are paler, and the upper feathers are mar-
gined with reddish-brown. In young males the crown of the head
is streaked brown and black. Female : — striped brown upper
parts ; throat merely mottled with black ; rump reddish-brown ; the
white wing-patch smaller than in the male and under parts much
duller. Young: — throat buffish-white ; feathers of the upper parts
much tinged and margined with rufous-brown ; otherwise as in the
female. Length 5^25 in.; wing to the end of the 4th and longest
primary 27 in.

TURDIN/K.

THE REDSTART.

Ruticilla phcenic^rus (Linnceus).

The date of the arrival of the Redstart is to some extent in-
fluenced by the prevailing temperature in the early spring ; but as
a rule the males, which precede the females by several days, attract
our attention by their conspicuous plumage about the middle of
April, as they flit, with lateral movements of the tail, from one
low branch to another, along the skirts of woodlands. Although
generally diffused throughout Great Britain, especially in the south,
the Redstart is often unaccountably partial in its distribution, being
uncommon to the west of Exeter ; a rare breeder in Cornwall ; and
only an autumnal visitor to the Scilly Islands. In \\ ales it is common
as far as Breconshire. In Scotland, where, although not rare it
is local, it has of late years spread northwards, and it is now
found breeding in Sutherland and Caithness ; but it seldom visits
the Orkneys or the Shetlands, and in the Hebrides it is as yet un-
recorded. In Ireland, only two or three occurrences are known.

On the Continent the Redstart is found in summer from the
North Cape to the wooded regions of Central, and even Southern
Europe, although better known in the latter on its spring and
autumn migrations. Eastward it stretches in summer as far as the
valley of the Yenesei ; its winter migrations extending to North

REDSTART.

Africa, the Canaries and Madeira, Senegal, Abyssinia, Arabia,
Palestine, and Persia. In Cyprus, Asia Minor, Persia, and the
Caucasus — straggling to Turkey and Greece — the representative
species is R. mesoleuca , the male of which has a white patch on the
wing, like the Black Redstart ; from the Lebanon eastward we find
the Indian Redstart, R. rufiventris , with black throat and mantle
and chestnut under wing; while the under wing is black in R.
ochrurus of the Caucasus and Armenia.

The nest is generally placed in hollow trees or in the holes of
walls ; exceptionally in such localities as the inside of an inverted
flower pot, or in the gable-ends of inhabited buildings. It is rather
loosely constructed of moss, dry grass, and fine roots, with a lining
of hair and feathers; the eggs, usually 6, being of a light blue —
paler than those of the Hedge-Sparrow — occasionally speckled with
reddish : average measurements 7 by *55 in. Nesting commences
early in May, and while the female is sitting the male is conspicuous
in the vicinity, uttering his slight but pleasant song, or, when
alarmed, a plaintive wheel. The food consists of flies, gnats, small
butterflies, and other insects, spiders &c. ; the young being fed largely
on caterpillars. Departure for the south takes place in September.
In many parts of the country this bird is known as the ‘ Firetail ’ ;
the second syllable of the name Red-start being derived from the
Anglo-Saxon steort, a tail.

Adult male : forehead and eye-streak white ; crown, nape and
upper back slate-grey, wings brown with pale outer edges ; rump and
tail chestnut, except the two central feathers, which are brown ;
chin, throat and cheeks jet-black ; breast and axillaries chestnut ;
abdomen buff; bill black ; legs and feet dark brown. Total length
5-25 in. ; wing to the end of the 3rd and longest primary 3-15 in.
The female has no bright colours on the head, being greyish-brown
above, and lighter on the under parts, while the chestnut of the tail
is less brilliant. Occasionally, however, a plumage resembling that
of the male is assumed, and a bird exemplifying this was caught
on her eggs in June 1882 (Tr. Norw. Soc. iv. p. 182). Birds of
the year resemble the female; the nestlings are spotted above
and below, and, but for the chestnut tail, are rather like young
Redbreasts.

In autumn the new feathers of both sexes are broadly tipped with
white, producing a greyish appearance, but these edges disappear by
the following spring.

TUR DIN/E.

THE BLACK REDSTART.

Rutic/lla t{tvs (Scopoli).

The Black Redstart, formerly considered a rare bird, is now a
well-known visitor to many parts of our coasts in autumn and
winter ; being in fact tolerably common at those seasons in the
southern counties, especially in Devon and Cornwall. It has also
occurred in summer, and I saw an adult male at Erpingham, Nor-
folk, on May 15th 1872; but as yet there is no really satisfactory
evidence that the species has ever bred in this country. In Scot-
land it is of rare occurrence, the latest and most northerly instance
being on the Pentland Skerries, March 31st 1884. To Ireland it is
an unfrequent winter-visitor, chiefly on the east and south coasts.

As a straggler the Black Redstart has been recorded in Iceland,
the Faeroes, Southern Scandinavia and Denmark ; but, although ex-
tending its range, it is not yet a common bird in the north-eastern
districts of Germany. From Holland southward it is, however,
abundant in summer ; migrating from the countries on the north of
the Alps in winter ; but becoming more or less resident in Southern
Europe, and even in the mountains of North Africa, where it breeds
at a considerable elevation. Eastward its range appears to extend
to the Ural, Asia Minor, and Palestine; and, in winter, to Nubia.

Breeding begins early in May ; the nest, composed of dried grass,
moss and fine roots, with a lining of hair and feathers, being placed,
with little attempt at concealment, in sheds, holes of walls, chalets,
or clefts of rocks. The eggs, 5-6, are of a pure shining white,

BLACK REDSTART.

sometimes with a faint tinge of blue, and occasionally speckled with
brown : average measurements 75 by -58 in. Two broods are often
produced in the season. The male commences his rich song very
early in the morning ; and from his familiar habits the Black Red-
start is one of the most conspicuous species on the Continent,
as, jerking his tail, he flits along the roofs in large cities, or the sides
of ravines in the country. Even in London one frequented the
grounds of the Natural History Museum, South Kensington, from
November 1885 until the snow-fall of January 6th 1886. Refuse-
heaps and sea-tangle seem to have great attractions for this bird. Its
food consists principally of insects, caterpillars, and, on our sea-
coasts, of small crustaceans.

Adult male : frontal band and lores black ; crown, nape and back
dark slate-grey ; wings brownish, with broad white margins to the
secondaries forming a conspicuous white patch ; rump and tail,
except the two brown central-feathers, bright bay ; chin, throat,
cheeks and breast black, passing into grey on the belly ; vent buff ;
bill, legs and feet black. In younger males the wing-patch is less
pronounced. After the autumn moult the black feathers of the
under parts have grey margins, which so soon wear off that I have
seen old males in splendid black plumage by the end of November.
Length 575 in.; wing to the tip of the 4th and longest primary,
3’4 in-

Female : greyer on both upper and lower parts than the female
Common Redstart, and her axillaries and under wing-coverts are
grey instead of buff. The young resemble the female. Young
males often breed in their immature grey plumage ; and owing
to this a supposed distinct species, since withdrawn, was described
by Gerbe under the name of R. cairii. The full black plumage is
not attained by the male until the second autumnal moult, and even
then the intensity of the colour is considerably modified by the long
grey margins of the feathers.

TURDINJE.

THE BLUETHROAT.

Cyan£cula suecica (Linnseus).

It may be well to commence by stating that there are certainly
two, and perhaps three, forms of the Bluethroat. The first, which
has its breeding-grounds in Arctic and sub-Arctic Europe and Asia,
exhibits a red spot in the centre of the blue gorget of the adult
male ; whereas the second form, which breeds south and west of
the Baltic, has the spot white. In the third and much rarer form,
the gorget is unspotted blue ; but as the feathers, on being raised,
show white at their bases, it seems probable that this last is an
intensified development of the white-spotted form, with which alone
it is associated as regards its geographical distribution. I am not
aware of any distinctive characters by which the females and young
of these forms may be separated. The red-spotted form is the only
one which has been proved to visit this country ; for although an
entirely blue-throated bird is said to have been observed by Capt.
Hadfield in the Isle of Wight, it was not obtained ; and an example
with a white spot, supposed by Mr. Hancock to have been taken
near London in May 1845, was purchased from a dealer whose
traffic with Holland was notorious. An adult male from Moscow
belonging to Mr. Seebohm exhibits an apparently white mirror ; but
on minute examination a few red feathers are discernible in the
centre of the white ; indicating that the bird belongs to the red-

BLUETHROAT.

spotted form ! The question of specific distinctness must remain
a matter of opinion. If segregated, the red-spotted bird is C. suecica,
and the white-spotted one is C. leucocyana ; while the third, if
separated from the second, is C. wolji.

The Red-spotted Bluethroat has been recorded since 1826 at
irregular intervals ; mostly on the eastern and southern coasts of
England, at the spring, and especially at the autumn migration.
In September 1883, considerable numbers were observed on our
east coast, chiefly in Norfolk, where a much larger flock dropped in
the same month of 1884. Three are recorded from Scotland ; but
none as yet in Ireland. It breeds in the northern portions of
Scandinavia and Russia, the elevated Pamir region, and Siberia as
far as Kamschatka (whence it has straggled to Alaska) ; migrating
to China, India, Arabia and North-eastern Africa. From Egypt
westward the White-spotted Bluethroat appears, and predominates in
North-western Africa and South-western Europe; breeding in France,
Belgium, Holland, and Northern Germany as far as the Vistula.

The nest, similar to that of the Redbreast, is placed in the side of
a hummock among swampy thickets ; the eggs, 5 -6, laid about the
middle of June, are pale olive with minute rufous spots : measure-
ments 75 by ‘55 in. The food consists of insects — especially
mosquitoes — and their lame ; earth-worms and small seeds. The
song, as heard during the nightless summer of the Arctic regions,
is described as rivalling that of the Nightingale in richness, ending
with a metallic ting ting. The cock bird is frequently bold and
conspicuous, while the female skulks among the undergrowth. In
its habits it resembles the Redbreast rather than the Redstart.

Adult male : lores dark brown ; a white stripe above the eye ;
upper parts clove-brown ; bright bay tail-coverts and basal part of
tail-feathers, except the two central ones which are dark brown like
the lower half of the tail ; chin, throat and gorget ultramarine-blue,
with a large central spot of red bay ; below the blue successive
bands of black, white and bay ; remaining under parts buffish-white ;
wing-coverts and axillaries golden-buff; bill black; legs and feet
brown. Length 6 in. ; wing to ends of 3rd-4th and longest
primaries, 2-9 in. Female : differs in having the whole of the
under parts tawny-white, except a dark brown band across the
chest ; but old females show some blue and bay feathers there.
Young : like the female ; the nestling streaked with black, similar
to a young Redbreast, but the base of the tail is bay. In autumn
the new feathers have grey tips which are shed by the following
spring.

TURDINJE.

THE REDBREAST.

Eri'thacus rubecula (Linneeus).

The Redbreast, familiarly known as the Robin, is probably the
! most characteristic of our British species ; for, in addition to the
nearly and legendary associations which combine to render it a
I favourite, it is also a resident species, conspicuous from its bright
plumage. Generally distributed throughout the British Islands, it
has undoubtedly increased in the north with the spread of planta-
tions, and it is now found breeding in the Hebrides and the Ork-
: neys, although not as yet in the Shetlands. In autumn the young
are driven away and forced to migrate by their parents, who, in
their turn, when pressed for food in winter, resort to the vicinity of
our dwellings, where they are almost universally welcome. At this
season numbers arrive from the Continent : shunning the cold of
the northern regions where they have passed the summer, even
within the Arctic circle.

The Redbreast has been observed in May on the island of Jan

REDBREAST.

Mayen, but it has not yet been recorded in Iceland, although it
visits the Faeroes in autumn. Southwards it breeds throughout
Europe down to the south of Spain — where it is very local —
North-western Africa, the Canaries, Madeira and the Azores ;
eastward, across Russia — where it is not abundant — to the Ural
Mountains. Its winter migrations extend to the Sahara, Egypt,
Palestine, Asia Minor, North-western Turkestan and Persia; but
in the last-named country we also find E. hyrcanus : a somewhat
larger form — of doubtful specific validity — with ruddier breast, and
chestnut margins to the upper tail-coverts. On migration the Red-
breast is by no means treated with the same consideration as with
us, being snared in large numbers for the table in the south of
Europe.

The nest, made of dead leaves and moss, lined with hair and a
few feathers, is placed in banks, holes of walls, amongst ivy, and in
hollow trees ; while pages might be filled with details of the extra-
ordinary sites sometimes selected. The eggs, 5-6, often 7, are
usually white with light reddish blotches, but sometimes they are
pure white : average measurements, ‘8 by '6 in. Nesting begins in
March, and two, or even three broods are produced in the year.
Its song is musical, but of little compass. The food is mostly insects
and worms, but berries and fruit are by no means despised, and in
winter, as is well known, bread-crumbs, meat &c. are acceptable.
A more pugnacious and domineering species than the Redbreast it
would be difficult to find.

In the adult male the upper parts are olive-brown ; frontal band,
lores, chin, throat and upper breast reddish-orange, bordered with
bluish-grey on the sides of the neck and shoulders ; lower breast
and belly dull white; flanks and lower tail-coverts pale brown;
bill black ; legs and feet brown. Length 575 in. ; wing to the end
of the 5th and longest quill 3 in. The female is usually duller
than the male, but I have seen carefully sexed examples which were
quite undistinguishable. The nestlings have a spotted appearance,
the smaller feathers of the upper and under parts being yellowish-
brown in their centres with blackish tips ; but after the first autumn
moult young birds are like the adults, except that the orange colour
of the breast is paler. Albino, grey, and mottled varieties of the
Redbreast are on record.

TURDIN/E.

THE NIGHTINGALE.

Daulias lusci'nia (Linnaeus).

This noted songster usually comes to us about the end of the
-second week in April; the males preceding the females by several
( days. Although generally distributed over the greater part of
England, it becomes rarer in the west, until in Devonshire a line
iis reached beyond which the bird is absolutely unknown; and
tthe same may be said of Wales, except Glamorganshire and
I Brecon. A straggler to Cheshire, its occurrence in Lancashire is
questionable, while it is unknown in Westmoreland, Cumberland,
Northumberland, and Durham. In Yorkshire, where its range is
i increasing, it has recently bred near Scarborough. There is as
: yet no proof that it has visited Scotland or Ireland.

On the Continent, Northern Germany appears to be the highest
; authenticated latitude for our Nightingale ; south of which, except
where systematically molested by bird-catchers, it is generally dis-
i i tributed throughout Central Europe. In such southern countries as
Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey, it is very abundant in
| suitable localities; breeding also in North Africa, Palestine and
! Asia Minor. Its north eastern limit in Europe appears to be the
; ' valley of the Vistula ; and in Russia it is confined to the southern
| provinces. From the Caucasus eastward to Turkestan and Persia, is
| found a closely allied form, D. golzii — rather more olive-coloured,

4°

NIGHTINGALE.

with longer bill and tail ; while in Scandinavia, Denmark and
Eastern Europe, our bird is replaced— and from Asia Minor to the
Rhine over-lapped — by the rather larger “Sprosser” or Northern
Nightingale, D. philomela : a perfectly distinct species, less russet in
hue, slightly spotted on the breast, and with a ?ninuie bastard
primary. In autumn our Nightingale leaves Europe and Asia ,
Minor ; wintering at least as far south as Abyssinia.

The nest, commenced early in May, is composed of dead leaves ,
of the oak and other trees, with a scanty lining of roots and bents ; j
and is usually placed on or near the ground in low underwood and
close hedge-row bottoms— always on the warmer side — or in the
banks of coppices. In Spain I have found it fully five feet from the
ground, in the tops of broad hedges and the sides of clipped cypress ■>
and myrtle trees. The eggs, 4-6, are mostly of an olive-brown, '
but some birds, which annually return to the same place, lay eggs of
a bluish-green mottled with reddish-brown, somewhat resembling
those of the Bluethroat : average measurements -8 by ‘6 in. The
young are hatched in June; after which the male discontinues his
melodious song, uttered hitherto by day as well as by night in genial
weather, and merely retains a harsh croak. Spiders, ants, and small
green caterpillars are the food of the nestlings, and in July and
August the young frequent fields planted with peas and beans ; the
adults live on worms, insects, ants’-eggs, fruit and berries, especially
those of the elder. Favourite resorts are small woods at no great
distance from water and the coppices bordering damp meadows.
Although the Nightingale does not bear captivity well, yet birds
have been kept through the winter, and a pair has even bred and
reared three young in confinement. Its well-known song needs no
description; the call- note being a wale, 7vate, cur-cur. In August the
young take their departure, the old birds remaining till September,
completing their moult. Migration is supposed to be performed
singly and not in flocks ; but Mr. Monk states that on April 13th
1872, there were Nightingales under the bathing-machines along the

whole length of the shore at Brighton.

In the adult the upper parts are russet-brown shading into reddish-
chestnut on the tail-coverts and tail, the colour of the latter being
very noticeable on flight ; under parts greyish-white, turning to
buff on the flanks and breast ; bill, legs and feet brown. 1 he
sexes are alike in plumage. Length 6-5 in. ; wing to tip of the
3rd and longest primary 3-35 in. The young in first plumage are
darker, with yellowish-brown shaft-streaks to the upper feathers and
greyish-brown bars on the under parts.

SYLVIIN/E.

4 1

THE WHITETHROAT.

Sylvia cinerea, Bechstein.

The Whitethroat arrives about the second week in April, remain-
ing until the beginning of September. Throughout England, Wales
.and Ireland, it is the most generally distributed and plentiful of the
(’Warblers; while in Scotland it is also common, except in the
northern counties, and even there it is extending its range, breeding
•regularly as far as the Dornoch Firth. In the Outer Hebrides it
’.appears to be as yet unrecorded ; and it is only a rare visitor to the
i Orkneys and Shetlands.

The Whitethroat breeds up to about 65° N., in Scandinavia, and
southwards throughout Europe down to the Mediterranean; but
• sparingly in the basin of that sea, the majority of the birds found
1 1 there being migrants and winter-visitors. In Asia Minor it is only
' found in summer, although said to be resident in Palestine. The
’• Canaries and Northern Africa are frequented in winter; the migra-
1 tions of this Warbler extending down the west coast to Damara-
I i land. Eastward, it breeds in Turkestan and South-western Siberia,
wintering in Egypt, Abyssinia, and Arabia ; its place being taken in
| the Altai and Tian-Shan Mountains, and North-western India, by
a larger, darker and greyer form, distinguished as N. fuscipilea. To
the north of the Caspian, the arid steppes beyond the Urai

WHITETHROAT.

Mountains appear to form the eastern boundary of our White-
throat.

Hedge-rows and thickets overgrown with brambles are favourite
resorts of this lively bird, and owing to its predilection for beds of
nettles it is generally known by the name of “ Nettle-creeper.” The
slight but rather deep nest, made of fine grass-stems and lined with
bents and horsehair, is placed low down in almost any kind of
coarse vegetation, or in straggling hedges ; the eggs, 4-6, are greenish-
white or stone-colour, blotched and sometimes zoned with violet-
grey and light brown : average measurements -7 by -55 in. The food
consists largely of insects, especially Tipidce ; also fruit and berries
during the season. The alarm-note is harsh and scolding : the male
showing considerable annoyance at the presence of an intruder on
his domain, and often following the pedestrian for some distance
along a hedge-row, flitting from branch to branch with every feather
on the throat and crest extended, agitating his outspread tail ; anon
shooting almost perpendicularly into the air. The female is less
demonstrative and generally skulks amongst the herbage. 1 he
sweet but somewhat monotonous song of the male, uttered in
snatches with great energy, is frequently to be heard by night as
well as by day in May and June.

Adult male in spring : head and neck smoke-grey ; mantle and
wings brown, with broad rufous margins to the secondaries ; tail-
feathers brown, except the two outer ones which are mostly dull
white, the next pair having broad white tips ; chin and throat
white, passing into vinous-buff on the breast; abdomen brownish-
white, darker on the flanks; under wing smoke-grey; bill brown,
lighter on lower mandible ; legs and feet pale brown. Length 5-5 in. ; i
wing to end of 3rd and longest quill 2-75 in. The female is duller,
and has the head brown like the back, while the vinous tint of the
breast is absent. The young are rather more tawny-brown and rufous, j

Those Whitethroats which breed in the south of Europe, and
which migrate only a short distance southwards, are rather small in =
size and brilliant in the contrast of their colours. A further step in
the process of evolution has produced a perfectly recognizable
species in the shape of Sylvia conspicillata , much smaller, with ,
more pronounced ear-coverts, and far brighter colours ; but other-
wise, in habits, colour of eggs &c., a miniature reproduction of our
bird. Every one of ornithological tastes who has visited Gibraltar, ,
Malta, or almost any place in the Mediterranean basin, will remem-
ber the Spectacled Warbler, and appreciate the force of the com-
parison.

SYLVIINiE.

THE LESSER WHITETHROAT.

Sylvia curruca (Linnaeus).

The Lesser Whitethroat, as its name implies, is a smaller bird
tthan its congener ; and although it arrives in England about the
same time, its distribution in our islands is decidedly less extensive.
Tolerably abundant in the southern, eastern and midland counties,
it becomes rarer in the west ; only visiting Cornwall on migration,
.and having been recorded for the first time as breeding in Brecon-
jsshire in 1886. To Cheshire and Lancashire it is a well-known
though not very numerous summer-visitor, and it is generally dis-
tributed in Yorkshire; but scarce in Durham, Westmoreland and
Cumberland. In Scotland, Mr. R. Service informs me that it is
seldom met with in Kirkcudbrightshire, although better known in the
.eastern part of Dumfriesshire and down by the Borders, and he has
only twice found its nest ; it is said to breed sparingly and locally
as far as Stirlingshire ; but in the northern counties, and in the out-
lying islands, the evidence, so far as I have been able to collect any
of a trustworthy nature, tends to show that it is at most a rare
! s straggler. One is stated in the ‘Scottish Naturalist’ to have been
shot by Mr. G. Sim in Aberdeenshire, on November 4th 1880;
and Saxby says that he observed it in September on Unst, Shetland.
From Ireland there are as yet no records of it.

In Scandinavia the Lesser Whitethroat breeds up to about 65°

LESSER WHITETHROAT.

N. lat. ; while southward it is found in summer over the greater part
of temperate Europe. It is, however, almost unknown or very rare,
even on migration, in Portugal and the western part of Spain, but a
few pass the winter to the east of Malaga, and in some years the
species is fairly common on migration about Valencia and Murcia.

In Italy it is very local ; but eastward it becomes more abundant,
and in Transylvania its numbers far exceed those of its relative.
Beyond the valley of the Lower Volga the doubtfully distinct Siberian
form S. affinis, replaces it ; in Cashmere, the Himalayas and the
north-west of India comes S. althea ; while the Afghan S. minuscula ,
Hume, makes yet a fourth subdivision. Our typical bird winters in
Northern and Central Africa, Arabia, Palestine and Persia.

The nest is a shallow structure of dried grasses, lined with hair,
and is frequently placed in brambles or small bushes ; a piedilec-
tion being shown for hazel- and thorn-hedges, whence the bird s Lan-
cashire name of ‘ Hazel Linnet.’ I he eggs, laid in May, are
creamy-white blotched with brown, and with under-spots of grey .
average measurements '65 by ‘5 in. 1 he female sits very close.
The song of the male is continued very late into the summer, and
has been syllabled as sip , sip, sip, frequently uttered in sultry
weather. The food consists of insects and their larvae, and fruit in the
season. The autumn departure generally takes place in the latter
part of September, but exceptional captures up to November are on
record.

Adult male : crown smoke-grey ; lores and ear-coverts dark

brown ; nape, back and tail-coverts brownish-grey ; wing-feathers
ash-brown, with paler tips and margins, but without the rufous
edgings to the secondaries which are so conspicuous in the larger
species ; outer tail-feathers greyish-brown with white outer webs ;
the rest of the feathers dark brown ; under parts white, with a faint
rosy tinge, fading into buff on the flanks ; bill blackish ; legs, which
are short and stout, slate-colour; iris white. Length 5-25 111. ; wing
to the tip of the 3rd and longest primary 2-5 m. The female is

rather smaller and generally duller in colour. The young are like

the female, except that the pale margins of the wing-feathers are
more pronounced, and the irides are reddish-brown.

Sundevall states that this species, the Greater Whitethroat, and
the Barred Warbler, all have a spring moult. Mr. J. Young, who =
has kept the Lesser Whitethroat for several years, confirms this as
regards some, but not all, of the quill-feathers.

SYI.VIIN/E.

THE ORPHEAN WARBLER.

Sylvia 6uphea, Temminck.

According to the late Sir William M. E. Milner a female Orphean
Warbler was shot, and her mate observed, on July 6th 1848, in a
small plantation near Wetherby, Yorkshire; and from the state of
her plumage she was believed to have been incubating. Virtually,
however, the authority for this statement was Graham of York, a
bird-stuffer and purveyor of rarities ; but the bird is correctly named.
In June 1866, as recorded by Mr. J. E. Harting, a young bird
unable to fly was caught near Holloway, in Middlesex, and having
been kept alive by Sergeant-major Hanley for nearly six months, it
was identified as an Orphean Warbler by the late Mr. E. Blyth.
Nests and eggs supposed to be those of this species have been
taken, but no other birds have as yet been authenticated.

In France the Orphean Warbler breeds sparingly in the Brenne
district, beyond the Loire ; more frequently in Poitou ; and com-
monly in the southern provinces. In Portugal and Spain it is
abundant wherever the olive grows, and also among woods of coni-
fers. It visits Savoy in summer ; is local on the mainland of Italy,
and very . rare in the islands ; passes annually up the valley of the
Rhone to the Vosges, the vicinity of Metz, and Luxembourg ; and
straggles to Belgium and to Pleligoland; east of which it is unknown.
Rare in Tyrol, it occurs regularly in Dalmatia, Greece, Southern

ORPHEAN WARBLER.

Russia, Turkey, Asia Minor and Palestine ; a form known as
S.jerdoni , with a somewhat larger bill and brighter coloration, being
found in Persia, Turkestan and Northern India. South of the
Mediterranean the Orphean Warbler breeds in Morocco and
Algeria ; visiting Egypt, and pushing its winter migrations as far
south as Nubia. None remain in Europe during the winter.

The nest, a tolerably compact structure of dry grass, lined with
finer bents, thistle-down and the down of the cotton grass, is
generally placed in bushes, such as tamarisks, or in young cork-trees
about twelve feet from the ground. The eggs, usually 5, are grey-
ish-white, blotched and slightly scrolled with various shades of brown;
much resembling those of the Lesser Whitethroat, but as large as
those of the Garden Warbler : average measurements '8 by '6 in.
Nests which I obtained near Malaga often contained one, and
sometimes two eggs differing from the others in their abnormal size,
and microscopic examination of the texture of the shell by Mr.
Sorby, F.R.S., subsequently proved them to be eggs of the Cuckoo.
Incubation begins late in April, and while the female is sitting the
cock-bird utters his song, louder and harsher than that of the
Blackcap, from some neighbouring branch. The food, like that of
many other Warblers, consists principally of insects, varied by fruit
in the season. I am not aware of any distinctive features in the
habits of this species.

Adult male : head to below the eyes black, paler on the nape ,
upper parts dark brownish-grey, with paler margins and tips to the
secondaries ; the outside pair of tail-feathers white on the outer half ;
the second and third pairs spotted with white at the tips ; the re-
mainder of all the feathers blackish-brown ; throat white ; breast and
flanks buffish-white ; under tail-coverts buff; bill nearly black, paler
at the base ; legs and feet dark brown ; iris straw-yellow. The female
differs merely in having less contrasted and browner tints. The
above descriptions are taken from a pair of birds obtained with their
nest at Malaga on May 23rd 1869. Young birds resemble the
female. Length 6 in. ; wing, to the tips of the 3rd— 4th and longest
primaries 3'i in.

The white on the outer tail-feathers will always serve as a dis-
tinction between this species and the Blackcap.

SYLVIINiE.

THE BLACKCAP.

Sylvia atricapilla (Linnseus).

The principal arrival of this songster, hardly inferior to the
Nightingale, takes place about the middle of April; but occasion-
ally some Blackcaps remain with us through the winter, and are
consequently noticed on warm days in early spring. The majority
take their departure for the south in September. Although some-
what local, the Blackcap appears to be of tolerably general distribu-
tion throughout England and Wales. In Scotland it becomes scarce
as a breeder beyond the Firths of Clyde and Forth, but its nest has
been found as far north as Ross-shire : while a pair attempted to
establish themselves in a garden in the Shetlands, to which, as well
as to the Orkneys, Caithness, and Sutherland, the bird is a visitor
during the autumn migration. In the mild, moist climate of the
south-west it remains until late in the year, and Mr. R. Service
captured one near Dumfries on November 29th 1881. In Ireland
it occurs sparingly in summer, the nest having been found in the
counties of Dublin, Wicklow, Tipperary, and Mayo ; while in winter
its presence has been recorded several times, especially in the south.

From Scandinavia below 66° N. lat., the Blackcap is found breed-
ing in every country of Europe, as well as in North Africa and
Palestine ; in fact, allowing for individual migration, the Blackcap
appears to be a resident species in the basin of the Mediterranean.

BLACKCAP.

Jn the Cape-Verd Islands it breeds in January, but it is later in the
Canaries. In Madeira and the Azores, where it appears to be
resident, a variety with much more black on the head and shoulders
of the male bird is not unfrequent. Its winter migrations have
been traced to the Gambia, Abyssinia and the Red Sea ; Omsk in
Siberia being its somewhat doubtful eastern limit at any season.

The small but tolerably compact nest, built of dry grasses and
lined with horsehair, is generally placed a few feet from the ground,
among bushes ; a privet hedge being rather a favourite site. The
eggs, 4-5, are sometimes light yellowish-brown blotched with a
darker shade, resembling those of the Garden Warbler, although a
little smaller ; in another variety the ground-colour and the blotches
are sudused with a beautiful reddish hue : average measurements
‘73 by '58 in. Two broods are reared in the season, and the male
takes his turn at incubation. The food consists of insects, often
taken on the wing ; rowan-, elder- and other berries ; and fruit,
especially raspberries and red-currants, for the sake of which the
nest is often placed in or near orchards and gardens. In the south
the bird also eats figs, oranges, and the berries of the pepper-tree.

Adult male : upper part of the head jet-black ; nape ash-grey ;
back, wings and tail ash-brown ; chin greyish-white ; throat, breast
and flanks ash-grey; belly white; bill horn-brown; legs and
feet lead-colour. Length 575 : wing to the end of the 3rd and
longest quill 275 in. The female has the top of the head bright
reddish-brown and the remainder of the plumage browner than in
the male. The young at first resemble the female, but the males
acquire the black head, with merely brownish margins, during the
first autumn.

It has been stated that in winter the males assume the plumage
of the females ; but I have seen hundreds of birds with black heads
in the markets of Southern Europe at that season ; and Mr. John
Young, who has kept a pair of Blackcaps alive for four years, assures
me that the male never changes colour after the first autumn
moult. In spring some, if not all, of the tail-feathers are said to be
renewed, but Mr. Young states that this is not his experience.

SYLVIIN/E.

THE GARDEN-WARBLER.

Sylvia hortknsis, Bechstein.

Later in its arrival than the Blackcap, the Garden-AVarbler seldom
comes to us before the beginning of May, and although generally
distributed over the greater part of England it is far more local than
that species. It is not known to breed in the western portion of
Cornwall ; nor in Wales beyond Pembrokeshire and Breconshire.
In Scotland, Mr. R. Service informs me that it is more abundant in
the Solway district than the Blackcap ; and although it does not
appear to be generally distributed, it has been recorded in Banff-
shire, and has been obtained in the Shetlands on its autumn
migration. In Ireland, where it is somewhat rare and very local,
it has been found breeding in cos. Antrim, Fermanagh, Tipperary,
and perhaps in Cork. It generally leaves our islands about the end
of September.

The Garden-Warbler is only a straggler to the Faeroes ; but south
of 70° N. in Norway and about 65° N. in Finland and Russia, it
is found breeding throughout Europe down to the shores of the
Mediterranean ; it is, however, partially distributed, and although
common in Southern Spain, it is not known to breed in Sicily or
Greece; yet it does so in Palestine. On its autumn migration it

GARDEN- WARBLER.

5°

leaves Europe by the middle of October, and passing through Asia
Minor and Northern Africa, it winters in the oases of the Sahara,
pushing on to Damaraland, the Transvaal and Cape Colony. East-
ward its range appears to be bounded by the Caspian, and the Ural
Mountains ; possibly it may extend as far as Omsk, on the Irtisch,

in Siberia.

The nest, lightly though firmly constructed of dry bents and fine
roots, with only a slight lining of hair, is generally placed in low
brambles and thorn- bushes ; sometimes among peas or in goose-
berry-bushes in a garden. The eggs, 4-5, are white, marbled
and blotched with shades of buffish-brown ; a good deal like one
variety of those of the Blackcap, but never, like the other phase of
the latter, suffused with a reddish tint : they are also on the
average a trifle larger and the shell is less glossy : medium measure-
ments 75 by '6 in. Only one brood is, as a rule, reared in the
season. The nestlings are fed largely on insects, particularly on the
caterpillar of the white cabbage-butterfly; but later, peas, fruit of
all kinds and berries, are largely consumed. From its partiality to
figs it has acquired its Italian name of Beccafico, which is however
a comprehensive term for many other small species. Its song is
continuous and mellow, though softer and less rich than that of the
Blackcap ; the call-note being a harsh teck, resembling the sound
made by knocking two small pebbles together. In its habits the
Garden- Warbler is rather more shy and skulking than most of its
congeners ; and it appears to be intolerant of rivalry, for it is
generally scarce in those districts where the Blackcap abounds, and
common where that bird is scarce, as for instance, in Lincolnshire.

Adult male in May: entire upper parts olive-brown, with a paler
eve-streak • quill-feathers darker brown with narrow whitish tips and
margins ; under parts mostly buffish-white, purer in the centre of the
belly, and darker on the flanks ; bill brown, paler at the base ; legs
and feet lead-colour with yellowish soles to the latter ; mdes haze ,
eyelids white. Length 5-5 in.; wing to the tip of the 3rd and
longest primary 3 in- The female is slightly paler than the male.
The young are rather more greenish-olive than the adults, and ave
well-defined pale margins to the secondaries.

SYLVIIN/E

Sylvia nisoria (Bechstein).

On March 4th 1879, Professor Newton exhibited at a meeting
of the Zoological Society a specimen of the Barred Warbler which
had been shot many years previously in a garden near Queen’s
College, Cambridge. Attention having been drawn to this species
as a straggler to Great Britain, a second example, an immature
female, was shot and recognized by the Rev. H. H. Slater, as it was
skulking in an elder-hedge by a potato-garden in some sand-hills on
the Yorkshire coast, on August 28th 1884. On September 4th of
the same year, Mr. F. D. Power shot another immature female in
some scrub at the base of Blakeney sand-hills, Norfolk. Both these

THE BARRED WARBLER.

F 2

BARRED WARBLER.

specimens were exhibited (P. Z. S. 1884, p. 477). Lastly, on August
16th, still in 1884, a young bird was shot by Mr. G. D. Lees near
Broadford, Isle of Skye, and subsequently identified by Mr. Dresser.

It seems probable that this species has occurred more frequently,
while from its skulking habits it may have escaped notice.

The Barred Warbler is a summer-visitor, for the purpose of
breeding, to the southern portions of Sweden, Denmark, Germany
east of the Rhine valley, and Central Europe generally in suitable
localities ; but so far as I know, Nice is its western limit on
migration, and in Italy it appears to be restricted to the northern
and north-eastern provinces. It also breeds in Bulgaria, 1 urkey,
Southern Russia, Persia and Turkestan ; in the latter up to an
altitude of from 6,000 to 10,000 feet. In October or November it
leaves Europe, and probably winters in Central and North-eastern
Africa, having been met with in Nubia and Northern Sennaar, among
thorn-hedges and thickets along the Nile.

Towards the end of May the nest, which is more neatly and
firmly constructed than is usual among the Warblers, is placed in a
bush, or on the branch of a tree near the ground in a plantation ;
occasionally however at the height of some twenty-five feet. Ihe
eggs, generally 5, are buffish-white marbled with grey, not unlike those
of the Grey Wagtail: average measurements -85 by 62 in. Only
one brood is reared in the season. Its food is principally insects,
but in summer and autumn fruit and berries are freely eaten.
The song is said to be little inferior to that of the Garden-Warbler;
the call is a sharp chek and the alarm-note a rattling rhar. Planta-
tions, thickets and thorn-growth are its favourite resorts

Adult male in spring : upper parts ashy-grey, brighter on the
head and rump, browner on the wings ; upper tail-coverts barred
with dark slate and white ; upper wing-coverts slightly barred and
tipped with white; broad white tips to inner secondaries; tail-
feathers tipped and margined on the inner webs with white, except
the two central ones, which are ashy-grey with famt darker bars,
under parts greyish-white with numerous grey transverse bars deeper
on the flanks; axillarics and under wing-coverts mottled white and
grey ; bill brown, paler at the base ; legs and feet brownish ; ms

pale yellow. Length 6*i5 in ; wing 3'5 i"- Female : br0'7ner a?d
less barred. The young exhibit very few markings on the under
parts, and, except on the rump, are hardly barred at all.

SYLV1IN./E.

THE HARTFORD WARBLER.

Sylvia undata (Boddaert).

This Warbler derives its trivial name from the fact that it was first
obtained near Dartford in' 1773, by Latham; but subsequent
research has shown that, although local, it is more generally distri-
buted in England than was for a long time supposed. Allowing for
a little wandering, it may be described as a resident southern species,
chiefly frequenting furze-covered commons ; and, apparently, ex-
tending its range both westward and northward of late years. It
is now known to breed in nearly all the southern counties, from
Cornwall to Kent, especially in Hampshire (including the Isle of
Wight), Surrey and Sussex ; sparingly in the valley of the Thames ;
perhaps in some of the midland counties ; and, on the sole authority
of Mr. C. Dixon, in the Rivelin valley, in the extreme south of York-
shire. It has been observed in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk ; while
in Suffolk a few probably breed. Only those who have studied its
habits are aware what a skulking little bird it is, especially in dull
rainy weather ; or how easily a patch of gorse holding two or three
pairs may be passed over, even by a careful observer, as untenanted.

Although as a rule a non-migratory species, the Dartford Warbler
has been observed in Heligoland ; but it is unknown in Northern
Germany, Holland, or Belgium. Rather rare in the Channel
Islands, it is found throughout France in suitable localities,
especially from the foot of the Western Pyrenees to Provence. In
many parts of Portugal and Spain it is common, and I have watched

DART I'ORD WARBLER.

it singing among the orange-gardens of Murcia ; while it nests in
the sierras of the almost tropical south coast at elevations of from
1,000 to 3,000 feet. In Morocco and Algeria it is also resident,
and it has been recorded from Lower Egypt and Palestine ; but in
Europe its eastern range is not known to extend beyond Italy and
Sicily, the bird seldom reaching Malta. In Liguria, Corsica, Sardinia,
and the Balearic Islands, it is to a great extent replaced by a close
ally, «S. sarda, of a nearly uniform grey tint.

The nest in this country is placed among the lower branches of
the thickest furze ; but on the Continent, especially in the south,
broom and heather are selected. The materials are principally
goose-grass and the softer branches of furze, with a little wool and
moss ; the second nest of the season being generally more flimsy
than the first ; but on the whole the structure is tolerably compact.
The eggs, 4-5, are greenish-white, with olive or reddish-brown
markings — bolder than on those of the Whitethroat : average
measurements '68 by ’5 in. The first nest is made in April ; the
second in June or July. The food of both old and young consists
principally of insects ; but in autumn blackberries and probably
other fruits are added. In its habits the Dartford W arbler is a rest-
less bird, flitting from the top of one furze bush to another, with a
quick and very undulating flight ; alighting in an abrupt manner as
if the action were the result of an after-thought : the tail being
spread for an instant as if to aid the bird in an effort to retain its
balance. On the wing the adult looks very dark : in fact like a
clack long-tailed Wren. The note which I have most frequently
heard uttered is a pit-it-chou , whence the French name Pitchou ;
but a scolding cha-cha is emitted when the bird is irritated. In
severe winters its numbers are liable to be greatly reduced.

Adult male : upper parts dark slate-grey ; wings dark brown with
paler margins to the secondaries ; the long dark fan-shaped tail with
white outer margins and tips to the two exterior feathers , chin,
throat, breast and flanks rufous-chestnut in spring, but streaked and
spotted with white in autumn ; lower breast and belly dull white ;
bill horn-brown at the tip, yellowish at the base ; legs and feet pale
brown; irides and eyelids orange-yellow. Length 5-1 in.; wing to
the tip of the 4th and longest primary, 2-25 in. The female is
rather smaller and browner, and shows less chestnut on the breast.
The young are still paler than the female, and have more vhite on
the lower parts ; irides brown.

SYI.VIIN/K 55

THE GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN.

R£gulus cristatus, K. L. Koch.

This tiniest of British, and indeed of European birds, is generally
distributed throughout our islands, breeding as a rule wherever it is
found, with the exception of the Outer Hebrides, Orkneys and
Shetlands, in which there are as yet few or no coniferous plantations
suitable to its requirements. Even on the mainland of Scotland
there has been a marked increase in its numbers of late years,
owing to the cultivation of firs and larches. In autumn immense
flocks sometimes arrive on our east coast, extending quite acioss
England, and the Irish Channel, and into Ireland. In 1882 a migra-
tion-wave of this description, commencing on August 6th and
lasting 92 days, reached from the Channel to the Iceroes; in
1883 the migration lasted 82 days ; and again, in 1884, for a
period of 87 days. Similar ‘waves’ passed over Heligoland,
with the exception of the last year when, strange to say, the
numbers were below the average. An unusual spring ‘ rush ’ took
place in March and April 1882. On such occasions bushes in
gardens on the coast are covered with birds as with a swarm of
bees ; crowds flutter round the lanterns of lighthouses ; and the
rigging of fishing-smacks in the North Sea is thronged with weary
travellers. In April a return migration occurs.

GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN.

From the limits of the fir-woods in Scandinavia, and from Arch-
angel and the Ural Mountains in Russia, the Golden-crest is
generally distributed over Europe down to the Mediterranean and
Black Seas ; it is also a regular migrant to Malta in spring and
autumn, on its way to and from North Africa. Eastward, it stretches
across Asia to the Amoor; examples from Asia Minor, Turkestan,
and the Himalayas, being intermediate between our form and
R. cristatus var. japonicus , with a greyish-brown nape, resident in
Japan. At the other extremity of its range, a local race named by
Mr. Seebohm R. crisiatus var. azoricus, distinguished by its much
larger bill, stouter legs, and longer tail, is found in the Azores ; but
the Canaries appear to be frequented by the ordinary form.

The beautiful nest of the Golden-crested Wren is generally placed
beneath the extremity of a branch of a fir, yew, cedar, or other
evergreen ; the almost spherical structure being supported by the
lateral twigs. Occasionally it has been found upon the upper sur-
face of a branch, and even in a low bush. Built of the softest moss,
felted with spiders’ webs, wool and a few lichens, and with a lining
of small feathers, it is frequently ready for eggs by the latter part of
March. These, 5-8 and even jo, are of a pale ochraceous-white,
minutely mottled, especially at the larger end, with reddish-brown :
average measurements '52 by '4 in. The female sits very close.
The song of the male, uttered almost incessantly in fine weather, is
often commenced in February ; but although sweet, it is weak, and
rather difficult to describe. Insects seem to form the food of this
little bird, which may often be seen searching for the means of sub-
sistence in the woods and groves, together with 1 its and Creepers,
for it is very sociable in its habits.

Adult male : base of the bill to above the eye, greyish-white ;
followed by a dark brown frontal streak deepening into a black line
on each side of a crest which is bright yellow in front and rich
orange further back; neck and back yellowish olive-green; tail-
feathers ash-brown, with yellowish margins; wings ash-brown, with
white tips to the secondaries, and a black bar across the upper
part, contrasting with the white margins of the median and greater
wing-coverts ; under parts greenish-buff, whiter on the belly ; bill
very dark brown ; legs and feet brown ; irides hazel. Length
3 -5 in.; wing to the tip of the 5th and longest primary 2 in. The
female is duller than the male, with narrower black streaks below
the crest, which is only lemon-yellow. The young have no crest,
but merely a crown rather darker in colour than the back.

SYLVIIN/E.

THE: FIRE-CRESTED WREN.

Regulus ignicapillus (C. L. Brehm).

Although the Fire-crested Wren can only be considered as a
straggler to our shores, yet its authenticated occurrences have been
far more numerous than is generally supposed. Since the first
recognized British example — a bird of the year obtained near
Cambridge in August 1832 — many visitors of this species have been
obtained — almost invariably in winter : rarely in Cumberland, Lan-
cashire, Yorkshire and Durham ; twice in, and once off the coast of
Norfolk ; once in Kent ; over twenty times in Sussex ; occasionally
in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight ; sparingly in Devonshire ;
more frequently in Cornwall and the Scilly Islands than in all the
rest of England; and once in North Wales. In Ireland it is as
yet unknown ; while in Scotland, the records of its occurrences in
East Lothian and the Shetlands require confirmation.

The Fire-crested Wren has a much less extended range northward
than its congener, and although it appears to have straggled to the
Faeroes, it is unknown in Scandinavia ; barely reaches Denmark ;
and does not occur to the north-east of the Baltic Provinces of
Germany. To some parts of the Rhine district it is rather partial
in summer; and, although local in its distribution, it breeds in
France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Central and Southern Germany,
Greece, Turkey, and Southern Russia. In the Taurus range of Asia
Minor, it is more abundant than ihe Gold-crest. In the mountain-
forests of Algeria, and in some parts of Southern Europe, the Fire-
crest is resident throughout the year ; its numbers being augmented

FIRE-CRESTED WREN.

in winter by migrants from the north. In Madeira it is represented
by R. maderensis , with dull-gold crest, dark grey nape and no black
streak behind the eye ; while a form with greyish-white lores found
in the Canaries is distinguished by Mr. Seebohm as R. tenerijfcz.

The nest of the Fire-crest is similar to that of the Golden-crest ;
but the eggs, 7-10, may always be recognized by the much redder
tinge of their ground-colour and dots: measurements ’52 by ‘42 in.
In Germany the branches of a fir-tree are almost invariably selected ;
the nest being seldom found in pines or larches ; and the same trees
are frequented year after year. In the above country nesting
does not begin before May ; but in the south of Spain the young
are able to fly by the middle of that month. Insects and spiders
constitute its food. In the Pyrenees, with excellent opportunities
for observing the habits of both species, I noticed that the Fire-
crest was much more restless and erratic in its movements, darting
away suddenly after a very short stay upon the gorse bush or tree
where it was feeding, and being often alone or in parties of two or
three at most ; whereas the Golden-crests, five or six together, would
work steadily round the same bush, and, if I remained quiet, would
stop there for many minutes. The note of the Fire-crest is a soft
zil, zit.

The adult male has a yellowish frontal band prolonged into a
white streak passing above and behind each eye, and separating a
parallel black line through and behind the eye, from the broader and
blacker upper bands on each side, which enclose the rich orange-
yellow crest. This black line through the eye is one of the principal
features which distinguish the Fire-crest from the Gold-crest;
another important characteristic being the sulphur-green tint on the
sides of the neck and shoulders. Prom the gape runs a third
black streak which may be called the moustache. Mantle olive-
green ; wings and tail brown, margined with yellowish-green ; the
former doubly barred on the upper parts with brown and white ;
under parts dull buffish-white ; bill black ; legs and feet brown. The
female differs in having a paler crest ; while the young have no crest
at all until after the first moult, but the characteristic triple band is
always present. Length 3 ‘8 in. ; wing 2 in.

An example of the American Ruby-crowned Wren, R. calendula ,
now in the British Museum, is said to have been shot near Loch
Lomond in 1852, by the late Dr. Dewar, in whose cabinet this
very conspicuous bird lay unrecorded for six years, when it was
recognized by the late R. Gray !

SYLVI1N/E.

THE YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER.

Phyll6scopus superciliosus (J. F. Gmelin).

This rare little straggler was introduced to the British list by
'Mr. John Hancock, who shot an example on September 26th 1838,
on the sea banks near Hartley, Northumberland, about four miles
inorth of the Tyne. It was catching insects on the tops of the taller
herbage; and its actions were so like those of the Golden-crested
'Wren that he mistook it at first for one of that species. This speci-
men is now in the Museum at Newcastle. A second example,
•recorded by Gould as having been obtained near Cheltenham on
(October nth 1867, by Mr. J. T. White, passed into the collection
of the late Sir John Harpur Crewe. Lastly, a third specimen was
taken at the lantern of Sumburgh Head lighthouse, Shetland, by
Mr. James Youngclause, on September 25th 1886, as recorded by
Mr. Harvie-Brown, to whom it was sent in the flesh.

On the Continent identified examples have been obtained, at rare
j i intervals, near Berlin, Vienna, and Leyden ; but on Heligoland the
Yellow-browed Warbler has been taken or seen at least eighty times
between 1846 and the end of 1887— on its autumn migrations,
i with the exception of two in April and May (Gatke). Its summer-
! ! home appears to be in the pine-forests of North-eastern Siberia,

1 from the valley of the Yenesei eastward to the Pacific, and from
1 1 the mountains of Lake Baikal northward to the Arctic circle. The
bird passes through Mongolia and North China on migration, and
winters in South China. Assam, Burma and North-eastern India

YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER.

(Seebohm). Canon Tristram obtained it at Jericho ; and Severtzoff
found it nesting in Turkestan up to about 8,500 feet.

The finding in Cashmere of a nest and eggs supposed to be those j
of this species, was described by Mr. W. Pi. Brooks in ‘ The Ibis ’
for 1872 ; and reproduced in the 4th Edition of ‘ Yarrell’s British j
Birds,’ as well as in Mr. Dresser’s « Birds of Europe ’ ; but the j
parent bird subsequently proved to be Ph. humii, a distinct species.

Mr. Seebohm had the good fortune to find the first authenticated
nest of the Yellow-browed Warbler, on June 26th 1877, in the
forest between the Kurayika and the Yenesei. It was built in a
slight tuft of moss and bilberries, semi-domed, exactly like the nest
of our Willow-Wren, and composed of dry grass and moss, with a
lining of reindeer-hair. The eggs, 6 in number, are described as
pure white, thickly spotted at the larger end with reddish-brown ;
measurements ‘6 in. by '45 in., and one of them is figured by Mr.
Seebohm on PI. 10 of his ‘ British Birds,’ a work which contains the
best account extant of this W arbler. In its habits, says Mr. Giitke,
this bird has little affinity with the restless Golden-crests, which it only
resembles in size and the double bar across the wings , and in Pleli
goland it is universally known as the ‘Barred Willow Warbler.
When it alights on a tree, it begins at the lower branches and works
steadily up to the top, searching for its insect food. Mr. Giitke
describes the note as hyiif a little drawm out ; while a bird ob-
served by Mr. Seebohm— also on Heligoland— uttered a plaintive
weest.

The bird in autumn-plumage has the whole of the upper parts
a greenish-yellow ; on the centre of the crown of the head a pale
line ; a yellowish stripe over the eye from the base of the bill to
the occiput ; a short streak of the same colour beneath the eye, and
a narrow dusky band passing through the eye to the ear-coverts ;
under parts pale yellow ; the ridge of the wing bright lemon-colour ;
wing-feathers dusky, edged with pale yellow, becoming broader on
the secondaries; two conspicuous bands of lemon-colour across the
coverts : bill brown, paler at the base ; mouth yellow' ; legs and toes
brown, with the under surface of the toes inclining to yellow'. . In ;
summer the green and yellow' have largely suffered from abrasion,
and the general tints are olive-grey. Length 4 in. ; wing 2'i in.

The Yellow'-browed Warbler was formerly known as the ‘ Dalma- 1
tian Regulus,’ Regulus modes/us, of Gould, described and figured in ,,
his ‘Birds of Europe’; but this proved to be Ph. proregulus ( Pallas), |
an Asiatic species which has straggled to Heligoland, but is otherwise ;
unknown in Europe.

SYLVIIN.Ii.

THE CHIFFCHAFF.

Phylloscopus RUFUS (Bechstein).

The Chiffchaff is the earliest visitor among our spring migrants,
i the familiar note, from which its name is derived, being frequently
heard by the middle of March, before the trees have put out their
! leaves ; while a comparatively small number occasionally pass the
winter in various sheltered portions of our islands, especially in
Cornwall. Tolerably abundant in summer in our southern counties,
and particularly so in the south-west and midlands, the Chiffchaff
> is somewhat rare, or local, in Norfolk, Lancashire, and the north-west
, of Yorkshire ; but more frequent in Cumberland, Westmorland,
Durham and Northumberland. In Scotland it has been observed as
far north as Caithness, and is stated by Mr. J. H. Dixon to be
common at Gairloch, Ross-shire ; but it is much scarcer every wheie
than the Willow-Wren, and is merely a straggler to the Outer
Hebrides and Orkneys. To Ireland, according to Mr. A. G. More,
it is a frequent summer-visitor.

In Northern Europe the Chiffchaff ranges in summer up to the
Arctic circle, and as far east as the valley of the Volga ; beyond
which it is replaced by the Siberian Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus Iris/is,
a rather smaller bird, browner and duller in coloration. South-
ward, our Chiffchaff is generally distributed in suitable localities
as far as the shores and islands of the Mediterranean, and is more
or less resident beyond the Pyrenees and the Alps ; its numbers
being largely augmented at the times of migration and in winter.
At the latter season, it is abundant in some parts of Africa down to

CHIFFCHAFF.

Abyssinia; also in Arabia, Palestine, Asia Minor and Persia. In
the Canary Islands it is a resident, and there, according to Capt.
S. G. Reid, R.E., its song has become longer and more desultory.

The nest of the ChiffchafT is usually placed near to, but a little
above, the ground, in rank vegetation and ferns ; occasionally in
ivy against a wall, at an elevation of a couple of feet or so, while
instances are on record where — in England and in the Canaries —
the nest has been found from three to five feet up, in laurel,
holly, and other bushes. In this country nidification begins about
the end of April ; the oval dome-shaped nest, with a hole rather
nearer the top than the middle, being composed of dry grass,
leaves and moss, with an abundance of feathers as a lining. The
eggs, commonly 6 in number, are normally of a pure or a creamy-
white, spotted with purplish-brown, and sometimes with underlying
blotches of violet-grey ; occasionally spotted with pale red : average
measurements 6 in. by ‘45 in* T he song, if such it may be called,
is continued throughout the summer, and by it the presence of the
bird is often betrayed, while the owner of the voice is invisible,
for the Chiffchaff frequents the branches of loftier trees than
the Willow- Wren does ; groves of tall elms being peculiarly attrac-
tive. Its food consists of insects and their larvae. By October the
autumn-migration from our islands may be said to have terminated,
except for those individuals which, as already stated, occasionally
remain till December or even through the winter, and, if severe
weather sets in, pay the penalty for running such a lisk.

The adult in spring: — olive-green on the upper parts, rather
yellower on the rump; a pale yellow streak above the eye, passing
into white behind the ear-coverts ; wing-coverts, quills and tail-
feathers dull brown, edged with olive-green ; chin, throat, breast,
belly and lower tail-coverts dull white, tinged with greenish-buff;
■under wing-coverts pale yellow ; bill brown ; iris hazel ; legs and
feet very dark brown. Length 475 in. ; wing 2-4 in ; tarsus -6 in.
The plumage is alike in both sexes. The young are slightly
greener than the adults and the eye-streak is fainter. After the
autumn moult the yellow tint in the plumage is much more pro-
nounced.

The Chiffchaff may be distinguished from the Willow-W ren by
its smaller size, duller hue, darker legs, and more rounded wing.
The 2nd quill is equal in length to the 7th, and the outer webs are
sloped off, or emarginated, up to the 6th inclusive. In the W illow
Wren this emargination only reaches to the 5th, and the 2nd is
•equal in length to the 6th quill.

SYLVIINiE.

THE WILLOW- WREN.
Phylloscopus tr6chilus (Linnseus).

The Willow-Wren makes its appearance in the southern portions
of this country about the first week in April, and from that time
until the middle of September it is by far the most abundant of
the three species of small greenish-yellow Warblers which annually
visit us. In England it is generally distributed, although somewhat
local in Cornwall : and it seems to be only fairly common in some
parts of Wales. To Scotland it is a regular and abundant summer-
visitor, and in the northern districts its numbers have considerably
increased of late years ; but to the Orkneys, Shetlands and Fceroes it
appears to be only a straggler. In Ireland it is common in suitable
localities. Occurrences of this little bird in winter, in the milder
districts of our islands, have often been recorded.

In summer the Willow-Wren ranges nearly as far as the northern
extremity of the Continent, and southward we find it breeding
throughout the greater part of Europe down to the Straits of
Gibraltar. Eastward it certainly nests in Transylvania ; but in
South Russia, Turkey, Greece, Asia Minor, Persia and Palestine it
is only known to occur in winter and on migration. Its summer
range extends over Northern Russia and Siberia to the valley of the
Yenesei; while its winter quarters may be said to begin in the south
of France, but the majority pass on to the oases of Africa, and

WILLOW-WREN.

some even to about 320 S. lat. in Kaffraria. It is not improbable
that a limited number pass the summer in suitable localities in
Northern Africa.

The domed nest, loosely constructed of dry grass, and always
lined with feathers, is generally placed among long herbage on the
ground, but often at the foot of a bush, occasionally some feet
from the ground, or even in a hole in a wall. The shape of the
nest has procured for this species and its congeners the name of
“ Oven-birds ” ; while in many places the Willow-Wren is also
known as the “ Hay-bird,” from the dry materials employed, and
also from the fact that the nest is often found in the corner of a
hay-field. The eggs, 6-8, are white, blotched and speckled with
much lighter red than is the case with the eggs of the Chiffchaff, but
exceptionally they are pure white : average measurements '62 by
•46 in. The first brood is hatched about the end of May, a
second being generally produced in the season. The merry song of
the Willow-Wren, consisting of a few often-repeated notes, may be
heard during the season in every coppice ; and sometimes calls
attention in our London parks to a begrimed songster which would
otherwise be almost unrecognizable. When the bird is aware that
its nest is approached, or when calling its young together, its usual
note is a plaintive whit , and at such times the greatest solicitude
and disregard of danger are displayed. Its food consists almost
entirely of flies, aphides , and other insects ; but although its utility
to the gardener is undeniable, it must be allowed that it does peck
and damage currants and other fruit to an unimportant extent.

The adult male in spring has the upper parts olive-green,
yellower on the rump ; a yellowish streak over the eye and ear-
coverts ; wings and tail olive-brown, margined with greenish-yellow ;
under parts yellowish-white, more sulphur-coloured on the flanks ;
under wing-coverts brimstone-yellow ; bill, legs and feet brown.
Length 4-9 in. j wing 2-6 in. ; tarsus 7 in. The sexes are alike in
plumage. In autumn the general tint is yellower, especially in
young birds. There is a spring as well as an autumn moult.

The Willow-Wren may be distinguished from the Chiffchaff by
its larger size, generally yellower tinge, paler tarsi, and by having
the outer margins of the primaries sloped off as far only as the 5 1
inclusive ; whereas in the Chiffchaff the 6th is also emarginated

Varieties of the Willow-Wren are uncommon ; but in May 1861
a primrose-coloured bird was shot in Surrey (Hailing), and m
August of the same year a similar bird was shot in Suffo

(Stevenson).

SYLVIIN/K.

- t 1- " . 4

THE WOOD-WREN.

Phylloscopus sibilAtrix (Bechstein).

The Wood-Wren, the largest of the three members of the genus
which habitually visit us, is the latest to arrive ; seldom appearing
even in the south of England before the middle of April ; while in
September it departs for the winter. Owing to its marked prefer-
ence for woods, especially of beech, it is more local in its distribution
than the two preceding species ; for example, although very common
in some of the eastern parts of Cornwall, it is of rare occurrence in
the west of that county. It is to be- found in suitable localities
throughout England, and, more sparingly, in Wales ; while in St.
Leonard’s and Tilgate Forests in Sussex, the New Forest, Sherwood
Forest, and the woodlands of Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire,
Durham and Northumberland it may be called abundant. In Scot-
land it is fairly distributed, and has apparently spread northward of
late years ; being recorded by Messrs. Harvie-Brown and Buckley
as breeding in the south-east of Sutherlandshire, and as having been
identified at Dunbeath in Caithness. Mr. A. C. Chapman recog-
nized it on North Uist, in the Outer Hebrides. To Ireland it is as
yet a rare visitor, having only been obtained in cos. Fermanagh,
Donegal and Dublin, and observed for several successive summers
in Wicklow.

The Wood-Wren has not yet been proved to visit Norway, but it
is found in Sweden as far north as Upsala ; while it is very common

WOOD-WREN.

in the Baltic provinces, rarer in South Finland, and a straggler to
Archangel. Eastward it can be traced to Kazan, the lower valley of
the Volga, the Caucasus, and the western shore of the Caspian. In
Palestine, Asia Minor and Greece, it occurs on migration ; but it
breeds in Turkey, Transylvania, and Europe generally, although
rarely in the extreme south ; while in Portugal the bird seems to be
almost unknown. It appears probable that a few remain during the
summer in the mountain forests of the Atlas ; the winter migrations
extending to the Gold Coast on the west side of Africa, and to
Abyssinia on the east. Notwithstanding its comparatively long
wings, the Wood-Wren appears to hug the land on passage far more
closely than is customary with the Willow-Wren and the Chiffchaff,
thousands of which annually visit Heligoland on their migrations ;
whereas the Wood-Wren is seldom met with there.

Like its congeners, this species makes a domed nest of ryg^s .
with a little moss, but there is lining of feathers SI op ng

wooded banks are favourite situations for the nest, which ofte
is not merely on the ground, but is actually set in some natura
hollow, well concealed by herbage. The hen at times sits very
close • when fairly beaten out, she will feed in an unconcerned
manner uttering a low pi-6 for a quarter of an hour or more ,
after which she works round to a branch ^ ^

down abruptly, and enters it in an instant. I he egg , 5 7> ‘
white, thickly .potted and frequently ^

-S3" - Continent, especially in the
miniature oo The food is principally

ltnbandethe shivering song may ^

chit, chitr , tr-tr-tr-tr-tr-tre, accompanied by 1

'Tn sondn?«he adult has a broad and characteristic sulphur-, dlow
streak above and behind the eye 1 the ^ "The
wings greyish-brown, edged w« 0 ^ anJ under tail-coverts

inner secondaries ; tai grey- ’ .... , and feet brown,

white 1 breast and 3 in-1

Length 5 '9 m. ; wing, to P , t • tarsus 7 in. In plumage

the first or bastard quill being very short , tarsus 7 P

the sexes are alike 1 the young ^er in being

the adults. The coloration, larger sue, anu t

wing suffice to distinguish this species from its al tes.

SYLVI IN.-E.

Aedon galact6des (Temminck).

The Rufous Warbler is a southern species, which has been ob-
tained in England, as a straggler, on three occasions. The first
| example was shot by Mr. Swaysland near Brighton on September
1 6th 1854, and according to Mr. W. Borrer of Cowfold, who
recorded it, the bird was a male preparing to moult. On Sep-
tember 25th 1859, after the prevalence for a week of a strong southerly
wind, a very thin bird, which had lost its tail, was shot at the Start in
Devonshire by Mr. W. D. Llewellyn, who presented it to the British
Museum. A third was obtained in a turnip-field near Slapton,
Devon, on October 12th 1876, as recorded by Mr. H. Nicholls
(Zool. s.s. p. 5179). These occurrences, all in autumn, show that
the individuals in question were merely wind-driven waifs from the
south ; nor is it likely that many others have escaped observation,
the bird being conspicuous by its plumage and habits. It may be
briefly described as a pale-coloured Nightingale, with white tips and

1 black spots on a broad fan-shaped tail.

The Rufous Warbler does not appear to visit France, or even the
northern portions of the Peninsula ; but in Southern Portugal and

G 2

RUKOUS WARBLER.

Spain it is abundant from the third week in April until the end of
September. To the mainland of Italy it is a somewhat rare
straggler ; visiting Malta on its migrations to and from Northern
Africa, where, from Morocco to Egypt, it is generally distributed
throughout the greater part of the year. In winter it goes as far south
as Abyssinia, ascending the mountains of that country in May to an
elevation of 3,5°° feet In April, according to Canon Tristram it
arrives in Palestine, and breeds to the south of Beyrout ; but north
of the Lebanon we meet with a very closely-allied species, Aa on
familiaris : much less rufous on the upper parts, and with the centra
pair of tail-feathers brown instead of chestnut. The latter breeds
in Asia Minor, Persia, Turkey, Greece, the Caucasian district and
Turkestan ; straggling, strange to say, across the line of Aedon
mlcutodes, to Italy and Nice, and even to Heligoland.

Breeding begins by the end of May ; the rather bulky nest being

often placed, without any attempt at concealment, at some dlSt^Cee
from the ground, on a branch or in a fork of a tamarisk bush , some-
times between tire roots of a tree in a bank-side; and frequently m
the cactus-hedges which border vineyards. Wool, hair, feather, an
any soft materials are used for the lining, amongst which a piece o

“Tnsunuy flSn/its expanded tail; whence its Spanish
ori gi^a^English^ nam ^ of ^Rufous ^Warbler is remarkably inap-

xsr i-JSvs:

resemble that of the Redbreast. ^ ^ ^ ^ whWsh strelk

Adult male : upper pa brown with reddish-bufr margins ;

above the eye to the nap , q terminal band on the two

tai, rich chestnut truth band wi,h increas-

central feathers, and a b . feathers ; under

ingly large t^hi.e tip* ‘ and flanks , bill, legs and feet

parts sandy-white, deep end of (he ,rd and longest

* - *». *■» —

THE ICTERINE WARBLER.

Hypolais icteri'na (Vieillot).

I Although common on the Continent, even within sight of our
own shores, this member of a well-marked genus not remotely allied
to the group of Reed-Warblers is only a very rare straggler to the
British Islands. The first example was killed on June 15th 1848,
at Eythorne, near Dover ; a second (now in the Dublin Museum),
on June 8th 1856, at Dunsinea on the banks of the Tolka, co.
Dublin ; and a third was shot by Mr. F. D. Power on September
nth 1884, near Blakeney, Norfolk. All three examples have been
examined and identified by competent authorities ; the significance
of which will be apparent hereafter.

In Norway the Icterine Warbler reaches the Arctic circle, although
in Sweden, Finland and Russia, its northern range is less extensive.
Eastward, the Ural and the valley of the Tobol form its known
limits, and further south it has been obtained at Lenkoran on the
western side of the Caspian. In Asia Minor, and South-eastern
Europe as far as Malta, it is only known on its migrations to and
from Africa — where it winters down to about 250 S. lat. ; but in Sicily
and on the mainland of Italy it arrives in April and remains to
breed; though Sardinia and Corsica are seldom, if ever, visited. In
Central and Northern Europe, up to the Baltic provinces, Denmark,

IC'i’ERINE WARBLER.

Germany, Holland and Belgium, it is common from the middle of
May until autumn. In the north-east of France it is very abun-
dant, and extends westward as far, perhaps , as the mouth of the
Somme ; to the west of which we find a very closely allied species,
H. polyglotta, often confounded with our bird both as regards speci-
mens and nomenclature. H. polyglotta is common round Paris
and generally west of the line of the Seine, as well as in the
southern provinces ; it is also the only one of the two found, as yet,
in Portugal, Spain, and North-western Africa. As its appearance in
this country, sooner or later, is highly probable, its distinctive
characters are pointed out below.

The nest, generally placed in the fork of a small tree or lilac
bush in a slightly moist locality, is a firm, deep, and often beautiful
structure of dry grass, wool, thistle-down, lichens &c., lined with
horsehair. The eggs, usually 4-5, are dull rose-pink, blotched, and
sometimes scrolled with dark purplish-brown : average measurements
•72 by -55 in. In Holland incubation begins about the end of May
or early in June. Almost every garden contains a pair, and the
presence of an intruder of his own, or any other small species, is
promptly resented by the male. The song has been much admired
for its variety, and its supposed imitation of the notes of other
birds — whence the German name Spottvogel or Mocking-bird , but
Mr. Seebohm, who is gifted with a fine ear for notes and who has
enjoyed considerable experience, can see no reason for supposing
the bird to be more of a mocker than the Song-Thrush or the Night-
ingale. When the nest is approached a soft pi-ti-u-y is uttered ,
the alarm-note being an angry tek, tek, tek. The food of the Icterine
Warbler is principally insects and small snails, but in summer and

autumn fruit and berries are freely consumed.

The adult male in spring has the lores and a streak over the eye
yellow ; upper parts greyish-olive ; quills brown, broadly margine
and tipped with buffish-white on the secondaries ; tail brown, slightly
tipped with buff; under parts lemon-yellow; bill, brown above,
yellowish below; legs and feet slate-brown. Length 5 in.; wing
3-1 in. The female is a trifle paler ; the young browner, with wider

pale margins to the wing-feathers. _ ,

Its western representative H. polyglotta is decidedly sma er, tie
wing measuring only 2 '5 in. ; the inner wing-feathers have muc
narrower, and indeed hardly any, pale margins ; and the bastard

primary is larger.

SYLVIIN/F.

THE REED- WARBLER.

Acroc£phalus streperus (Vieillot).

The Reed- Warbler arrives in England regularly in the latter part
of April ; and from that time until September it is common in most,
but not all, the localities apparently suited to its habits, in- the
southern, midland, and eastern districts. In the extreme south-west
it is rare, seldom visiting Cornwall or the Scilly Islands ; but in
Wales it is fairly common, at least as far west as Breconshire, and
especially about Llangorse Lake, where there is abundance of reeds
(Phillips). It is plentiful in such situations in Cheshire (Nicholson) ;
but in Lancashire, where suitable spots are few, it is naturally
local, and in Cumberland it is rare. In Yorkshire it breeds as far
north as the vicinity of Ripon, and also near Leeds, while at Horn-
sea Mere, in the East Riding, it is abundant. Mr. R. Fortune
asserts that he has found its nest and eggs at Ravensworth on the
Durham side of the Tyne. In Eastern Scotland it is said to have
been observed in Forfarshire, and even to breed on the Tay in
Perthshire, but proof is as yet wanting ; and in the Scottish Solway
district Mr. R. Service has never heard of it. In Ireland it is said
to have been once obtained — near Dublin on December 21st 1843(1),
but not since ; and certain wings attributed to this species, recently
sent by lighthouse-keepers, have proved to be those of the Blackcap
and the Garden-Warbler.

REED-WARBLER.

The south of Sweden, and ahout 58° N. lat, mark the northern
limits of the Reed- Warbler in Europe ; but below this line the bird
has been found breeding in suitable localities down to the extreme
south of Spain and Italy, and perhaps in Algeria. Large numbers
pass the winter in the basin of the Mediterranean, whilst others go
down to Central Africa. Eastward, it is found as far as the coun-
tries between Baluchistan and the south-western portion of Siberia
In the breeding-season the Reed-Warbler is by no means restricted
to reeds, or even to the immediate proximity of water ; and Mr.
R. H. Mitford has given an account of the nesting of several pairs
annually in lilac-trees in his garden at Hampstead. On the Thames
and elsewhere the slender branches of willows and alders are fre-
quently selected ; the nest being often ten feet above the ground or
water, and sometimes at a far greater elevation. Exceptionally nests
have been found in hedges fringing a river. Where reeds aie
abundant, as in the Eastern Counties, they .are usually preferred ;
and in every case the nest is supported by from two to four reeds or
twigs, as the case may be, woven into the sides of the nest, which
is so deep that the eggs will not roll out in the strongest wind.
Begun when the reeds are quite short, the nest is often a full yard
above the water by the time that the young birds are hatched. I he
materials employed are dry grasses and moss, with a little sheep s-
wool, feathers, and horsehair for a lining, but occasionally there is so
much wool that the nest seems to be made of it. Ihe eggs, 4-5,
are greenish-white, clouded, blotched or freckled with dark olive,
ash-colour, and black: average measurements 72 by -53 in. Ihe
Cuckoo is partial to the nest of this Warbler, and I have more than
once found two eggs of that parasitical bird in the same home.
Incubation begins very early in June. During the summer the
varied song of the Reed-Warbler may be heard at intervals during
the day, except in windy weather ; but it is loudest and most attrac-
tive during the long twilight of evening. The food consists of
aquatic insects— especially small dragon-flies— and their larvte,
spiders, slugs and worms, varied in the season by fruit and berries.

The adult male has a pale buff streak over each eye ; upper parts
brown, tinged with chestnut, especially on the rump ; under parts
white, turning to buff on the sides, thighs, and under tail-coverts.
In autumn the chestnut and buff are much stronger. Bill horn-
brown above, yellowish-brown below ; legs and feet purplish-brown.
Length 5-5 in. ; wing to end of 3rd and longest quill 2-5 in. d he
female, according to my experience, is decidedly less rufous during
the breeding-season. The young are very tawny underneath.

SYLYI1N/E.

THE MARSH-WARBLER.

Acrocephalus palustris (Bechstein).

The Marsh-Warbler is not figured here, for no wood-cut could
adequately show the points of difference between this species and
the Reed- Warbler ; nor, for that matter, can much be said in favour
of many of the coloured illustrations which are supposed to repre-
sent the former. Some English ornithologists have even been un-
able to recognize, in preserved specimens, the distinctions in plumage
between species which, in life, differ still further in their nesting-habits,
eggs, and song ; and it is evident that the eyes of many persons are
incapable of appreciating the somewhat subtle differences of tint.
Others, again, have started under the disadvantage of not possess-
ing genuine specimens of the Marsh-Warbler, for only ten years
ago it was by no means easy to obtain them. Gould’s coloured
plate in the * Birds of Great Britain ’ undoubtedly represents the
Reed-Warbler ; so does, in my opinion, the one in Lord Lilford’s
‘ Birds of the British Islands while in Mr. Dresser’s plate of the
two species in his ‘ Birds of Europe ’ the respective tints are inade-
quately rendered, and the legs of the Marsh-Warbler are wrongly
coloured stone-grey, although accurately described in the letter-
press. The legs of the Marsh-Warbler are pale brownish flesh-
colour ; the general hue of the upper parts is at all times less rufous
than in the Reed- Warbler, and more distinctly greenish olive-brown ;
while, except when much abraded, the wing-feathers are more
markedly tipped and margined with pale buff ; the under parts are
tinged with sulphur-buff, not rufous-buff as in the Reed-Warbler.

.The Marsh-Warbler is a regular spring-visitor in small numbers to
Somersetshire, particularly to the neighbourhood of Taunton ; the
nest has also been found by Mr. C. Young near Bath ; and last
year, I believe, one was taken in Gloucestershire. The only satis-
factory British-killed specimens of the bird I have been able to
examine are those obtained near Taunton; and all of them were, to
my eye, quite unmistakable, although some of them had been pre-
served for years. My friend, Mr. F. Bond, has an undoubtedly
genuine nest and eggs of this species, taken some years ago in Cam-
bridgeshire, but a pair of birds obtained at the same time and place
are, in my opinion, simply Reed-Warblers.

MARSH-WARBLER.

Denmark, and Revel in Esthonia, appear to be the northern limits
of the breeding-range of the Marsh-Warbler ; while eastward it ex-
tends across Russia to South-western Siberia, Turkestan and Persia ;
the bird wintering in many parts of Africa, as far south as Natal.
South of the Baltic it is generally distributed in suitable localities
throughout Europe, except in the extreme west, respecting which
further information is desirable. The ‘ Verderolle,’ as it is appro-
priately named in French, undoubtedly breeds as far as a longitu-
dinal line drawn through Normandy ; but as yet no specimens are
forthcoming from the Spanish Peninsula. In May 1870 I shot,
near Aranjuez, a bird, too much shattered for preservation, which I
then believed to be a Marsh-Warbler ; and my friend Mr. Dresser
has identified as Marsh-Warblers several specimens now or formerly
in my collection, obtained near Malaga ; but with every wish that
they should be so, I have always dissented strongly from this view,
and consider them to be well-marked Reed- Warblers.

The Marsh-Warbler does not frequent reeds, but confines itself
principally to swampy thickets and osier-beds, where the nest can
be reached dry-shod, although the ground may be somewhat moist
owing to the vicinity of a stream. The nests never overhang the
water, although often close to it, in low bushes, or among the rank
meadow-sweet, cow-parsnip and nettles. Those which I have ex-
amined were composed of fine round grass-stalks and lined with
horsehair. The eggs, 5-7, are much whiter in their ground-colour
than those of the Reed- Warbler, with spots and blotches of olive-
brown and violet-grey : average measurements 73 by -55 in. Only
one brood is reared in the season ; but if the nest be taken,
another is soon built, and fresh eggs have been found in the begin-
ning of July. The male bird is often conspicuous at some distance
from the nest; not skulking like the Reed-Warbler, but boldly pour-
ing out a song far more melodious than that of its congener. Its
food is similar to that of the Reed-Warbler.

The adult is olive-brown above, with a faint buffish-white streak
over the eye; under parts white tinged with sulphur-buff; wing-
feathers olive-brown, tipped and margined with pale buff; bill horn-
brown above, paler below; legs and feet brownish flesh-colour.
Length 5-5 in. ; wing to the end of the 3rd and longest primal y
27 in., longer than in the Reed- Warbler. In fresh and fully
moulted birds the 2nd quill infinitesimally exceeds the 4th: the
reverse being the case with the Reed-Warbler.

SYLVIIN/E.

THE GREAT REED- WARBLER.

Acrocephalus turdoi'des (Meyer).

The Great Reed-Warbler is another species which, like the Icterine
Warbler, is so common on the Continent that it is a marvel its
visits to our shores are so few and far between. Nor is the present
a species likely to escape notice : on the contrary, its powerful
chattering song and large size would at any time attract attention.
The fact, however, remains that it has been very rarely obtained in
England. The first on record was obtained near Newcastle on May
28th 1847, by Mr. Thos. Robson (afterwards well known as a col-
lector at Ortakoi, near Constantinople) ; three are stated, on the
authority of a dealer whose traffic with Holland was notorious, to
have been obtained in Essex and Kent ; later, Mr. Goodchild in-
forms me that an example shot near Sittingbourne is in the collec-
tion of Mr. G. Thomas ; Mr. W. O. Hammond shot one near
Wingham, Kent, on September 14th 1881; and one was obtained
near Ringwood, Hampshire, on June 3rd 1884. I believe that a few
summers ago an individual of this species frequented one of the
Norfolk Broads, which it is unnecessary to name. Statements as to
the finding of eggs supposed to belong to this bird are not wanting,

GREAT REED-WARBLER.

but none of them are authenticated. In Yarrell’s ‘British Birds ,
until the 4th Edition, this species was called the Thrush-like Warbler ;
and by some authors it is termed the Great Sedge- Warbler.

The Great Reed-Warbler is only a rare straggler as far as the
south of Sweden, and the islands at the mouth of the Gulf of Riga
appear to be its extreme northern limit. South of the Baltic it is
abundant in summer, in suitable localities, throughout Europe down
to the Mediterranean, Palestine, Asia Minor, and the shores of the
Caspian, while in Morocco and Algeria it is to a great extent resi-
dent : its winter migrations extending almost to the extreme south of
Africa. In Egypt, Arabia, Persia, and eastward to India, it is
replaced by A. stentoreus , a close ally. The Great Reed- Warbler
breeds annually as near to us as Calais, and is common in Belgium
and Holland ; only a few hours’ journey from London.

In the breeding-season the Great Reed-^ arbler need only be
looked for in reed-beds, whether on the banks of streams and lakes,
or on small ponds. The nest, seldom finished before the end of May,
is a compact cup-shaped structure, some five inches deep, composed
of dry reeds and grass, with a lining of the finer portions and the
flowers of the same ; the whole being closely bound to and suspended
from several upright reed-stems. The eggs, 4-5, often 6, are pale
greenish-blue, blotched and speckled with ash-grey, russet-brown and
dark olive : average measurements -9 by ‘65 in. Only one brood is
reared during the season, and by the beginning of September the
southward migration has taken place. In its habits the bird is gene-
rally bold, and is conspicuous from its large size, as it flits from one
clump of reeds to another, or sits high upon one of the upper stems,
uttering its loud harsh song, karra-karra-karra, karee-karee-ka/ee,
charra-charra-charra ; it has also a croaking note when alarmed.
It sings from early morning till late at night. Its food consists
principally of insects and their larvce; but in autumn it is said to

eat berries, especially those of the elder. . .

The adult male has a dull whitish streak from the nostrils over
each eye ; the upper parts warm olive-brown, with paler tips and
margins to the feathers of the wings and graduated tail ; under parts
warm buff, whiter on the throat and belly 5 bill brown, yellowish at
the base ; inside of the mouth orange-yellow j irides brown ; legs
pale horn-colour. Length 8 in. ; wing to the tip of the 3r an
longest quill (the first or bastard being very small) 3-8 in. I he
female is slightly smaller. The young are more fulvous on the
under parts, and are slightly striated on the sides of the neck and

throat.

SYLVIINJE.

THE SEDGE-WARBLER.

Acrocephalus phragm itis (Bechstein).

The Sedge-Warbler or Sedge-bird arrives in our islands during
the latter half of April, and from that time until the lattei part of
September it is the most abundant and generally distributed
member of the genus ; while occasionally examples have been
observed late in October and even in winter. It breeds in
evety county of Great Britain ; although somewhat locally in the
extreme north, and very sparingly in the Isle of Skye ; west of which
I do not trace it. Mr. T. E. Buckley observed about three pairs
frequenting a garden, in summer, on Rousay in the Orkneys ; but
it is not yet recorded from the Shetlands. To Ireland it is a regular
and widely distributed visitor in summer.

In Norway the Sedge-Warbler is found as far north as lat. 70° ;
and eastward, it can be traced across Sweden, North Russia, and
Siberia to lat. 67° in the valley of the Yenesei. Southward, its
breeding-range extends to North-western Turkestan, Palestine,
Greece, and the central part of Italy ; but in Sicily and throughout
the greater part of the Mediterranean basin as far as Spain it is
principally known as a migrant. In the latter country I obtained
examples in spring and autumn, and, although not found breeding, I
have adults shot at Malaga on July 25th. Throughout the rest of
Europe it is tolerably abundant in suitable situations, especially in

SEDGE-WARBLER.

the north, although sometimes rather unaccountably local. In
winter it visits Africa and Egypt, migrating as far south as Damara-
land and the Transvaal.

Although partial to the banks of streams, lakes and ponds, where
beds of rushes and osiers abound, the Sedge- Warbler is by no means
restricted to such or even to less moist situations ; indeed it may
often be found among copses and hedge-rows far from water. The
nest is never suspended, like that of the Reed- Warbler, but is con-
cealed among the lower branches of a willow, or in the rank herbage
by some stream or ditch, or even in a mossy hollow in the ground.
Mr. A. H. Evans and I found one in the middle of a gooseberry
bush in a garden by Hickling Broad ; and Mr. M. Browne has
recorded another which was placed quite ten feet up, at the top of
a ‘ bullfinch ’ hedge, in Leicestershire. The foundation of moss is
surmounted by grass and coarse bents, with a slight lining of horse-
hair and seed-tufts of plants, and occasionally feathers. The eggs,
5-6, are of a yellowish clay-colour, clouded or mottled with a brownish
shade, and often streaked and scrolled at the larger end with black hair-
lines (much like those of the Yellow Wagtail) : average measurements
•68 by -52 in. The young are hatched early in June. Aquatic in-
sects and their larvre, small slugs and worms, form the principal food
of the Sedge- Warbler; but in autumn, like its congeners, it appears to be
partial to elder-berries. Its babbling song is loud and merry, although
some of the notes are harsh (for which reason the bird is known as
the ‘ Chat ’ on the Thames) ; and in the summer it sings day and night ;
being more often heard than seen, for it is skulking and restless.

The adult male in spring has the lores and ear-coverts brown,
surmounted by a broad yellowish-white streak above each eye ;
crown streaked with dark brown on a paler ground, forming a sort
of cap ; neck, back and wing-coverts reddish-brown clouded with
darker brown ; rump and tail-coverts tawny brown ; tail dark brown,
with paler edges ; wings nearly the same ; chin and throat white ;
breast and under parts buff ; bill dark brown above, lighter below ;
legs and feet pale brown. Length 475 in. ; wing to the end of the
3rd and slightly longest primary 2-5 in.; the bastard primary being
very small. The latter character serves to distinguish the Sedge-
Warbler from the Moustached Warbler ( Lusciniola tnelanopogon ),
found in the south of Europe, and very similar in general appear-
ance, but with a long bastard primary. The female Sedge- Y arbler
is less rufous on the rump, and is generally of a duller brown than
the male. The young are distinctly spotted with pale brown upon
the throat and upper part of the breast.

SYLVIIN7E. 79

THE AQUATIC WARBLER.

Acrocephalus aquaticus (J. F. Gmelin).

Owing to its similarity to the preceding species, all the examples
of the Aquatic Warbler hitherto obtained in England appear to have
been originally overlooked. Professor Newton was the first to
recognize a specimen in the collection of Mr. W . Borrer, who said
that it had been shot on October 19th 1853, while creeping about
among the grass and reeds in an old brick-pit near Hove, Sussex.
This example having been exhibited before the Zoological Society
(P. Z. S. 1866, p. 210), it was subsequently examined by Mr.
Harting, who announced (Ibis 1867, p. 469) that he also possessed
an Aquatic Warbler, obtained near Loughborough, in Leicestershire,
in the summer of 1864, and forwarded to him, by a friend, under
the impression that it was a Grasshopper-Warbler. In February
1871, Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun. detected in the Museum at Dover a
third example, which the Curator, Mr. C. Gordon, stated that he had
shot near that town. Mr. Gurney has further pointed out that the
bird figured as a Sedge-Warbler in Hunt’s ‘ British Ornithology ’
was undoubtedly an Aquatic Warbler, in all probability obtained in
Norfolk about the year 1815. The conspicuous buff streak down
the middle of the crown in the Aquatic Warbler is an unfailing mark
of distinction between this species and the Sedge-Warbler.

AQUATIC WARBLER.

The Aquatic Warbler is only a rare straggler to Heligoland ;
although it breeds sparingly in the southern part of Denmark, Sleswig-
Holstein, and on the southern side of the Baltic. In Holland and
Belgium it is of uncommon occurrence ; but in France, according
to Degland and Gerbe, it is of ‘annual passage ’ in the departments
of Somme and Nord. In the Brenne, and beyond the Loire, it
arrives about the third week in April to breed ; while further south,
in the Camargue and similar marshy districts, it is not uncommon.
Eastward, it is fairly distributed throughout Northern Germany,
becoming abundant in Silesia and some parts of Poland ; nor is it
uncommon in Southern Germany. It breeds in many parts of Italy,
Sicily and Sardinia ; but in the Spanish Peninsula I have only
obtained it in the month of September. In Algeria it is probably
resident. In the eastern portion of the basin of the Mediterranean
it appears to be merely a migrant or a winter-visitor ; and the
marshes of the Southern Ural form its boundary in that direction.

According to Naumann, the nest is placed in more open localities
than that of the Sedge- Warbler, and generally about a foot from the
ground, in a bunch of sedge, or amongst dwarf willow-growth ; but
never among reeds overhanging the water. It is similar to that of
the Sedge-Warbler, and the eggs, 4-5 in number, are slightly less
yellow in their ground-colour than those of that bird : average
measurements ’65 by -51 in. Breeding commences in the middle of
May. In its habits this species is remarkably shy, concealing itself
on the least alarm and running like a mouse along a branch or on
the ground. Its food consists of insects. The song, uttered from
the °end of April to July, is shorter and less varied than that of
the Sedge-Warbler.

In the adult the forehead is reddish-buff ; lores and ear-coverts
pale brown, surmounted by a buff stripe above and behind each
eye ; above this, on each side, is a broad blackish stripe, followed
by a conspicuous buff streak along the middle of the crown ; nape
and back tawny-brown striped with black ; rump rufous-brown,
striped with black ; tail-feathers brown, darker along the shafts ;
under parts yellowish-buff, darker on the flanks, which, with the
neck and throat, are more or less striated; bill brown above,
yellowish below ; legs and feet yellowish-brown. In the autumn
the buff tint becomes more intense. Length 4-5 in. ; wing to tip of
the 3rd and longest primary 2-5 in. ; the bastard quill being very

small.

SYLVIIN/E.

8 [

THE GRASSHOPPER-WARBLER.

Locust£lla NjEVia (Boddaert).

This Warbler owes its trivial name to its rapid trilling song, which
■ resembles the chirping noise made by the grasshopper or the mole-
cricket : but in many parts of England it is also known as the
I ‘ Reeler,’ from a fancied imitation of the noise of the old-fashioned
implement used by wool-spinners, or of the running out of the
line on a fisherman’s reel. The bird arrives from the south about
the end of April ; departing in September. Between those months
it is of tolerably general distribution in suitable localities throughout
England and Wales ; but owing to its skulking habits, it is often
1 supposed to be rarer than is really the case. Fens and partially re-
■ claimed land are favourite situations, but heaths, commons, and
tangled hedge-rows are also frequented ; while the moist shoulders
or ‘ dips,’ near the summits of some of our highest hills, such as the
1 Cheviots, are situations to which it seems to be partial ; Northum-
berland and Durham being two of the counties in which it is
j;i especially abundant in summer. In Scotland, we trace it, in
! ■ diminishing numbers, to Arisaig, below the Sound of Sleat ; and,

| across that water, to the Isle of Skye. In Ireland it is a somewhat
| local summer-visitor, breeding in the eastern and southern districts,

| especially in co. Waterford, and in co. Fermanagh.

I he Grasshopper- Warbler is only a rare visitor to Heligoland,
and is not known to cross the Baltic, but it is found in Russia as
; far north as St. Petersburg. Over the greater part of Europe it
| seems to be generally distributed, although seldom common; but it

GRASSHOPPER-WARBLER.

is not improbable that it may often be overlooked. In Italy it is
said to be rare ; but in the south of Spain I found it fairly abundant
in autumn and winter ; and in the latter season it appears to visit
Morocco and Algeria. Eastward, it can be traced in Europe to
Transylvania and to the south-west of Russia ; but beyond the Ural
Mountains its place is taken by allied species : — L. lanceolata in
Siberia, and L. straminea in Turkestan ; there is, however, still
much to be learnt respecting the eastern limits of our bird.

The nest may be looked for in clumps of dry fen-grass, the
bottoms and sides of thick hedge-rows, rank herbage on hill-sides, or
in young plantations. When flushed from her nest the bird flies off
with a very peculiar drooping movement of her outspread tail, and,
if not immediately pursued, she will usually not fly far. On her
return she will, doubtless, come stealing back again with the \
mouse-like action so often insisted upon as a characteristic by various
writers, but neither Mr. A. H.' Evans nor I have noticed this per-
formance on her leaving the nest. The compact and rather deep
structure is principally composed of moss and dry grass, with a finer
lining of the latter ; the eggs, 5-7, are pale pinkish-white, freckled
and zoned with darker reddish-brown : average measurements 7 by
•54 in. Two broods are sometimes reared in the season ; the first
eggs being laid about the third week in May ; while they have
been taken fresh in the first week of August. The song, already
described, may be heard to advantage on a still summer’s evening,
or during the two or three hours after dawn; the bird perching
on the topmost spray of a bush or the point of a tall reed to utter
it, but taking refuge in the herbage on the smallest alarm, although
perhaps only for a moment. The alarm-note is a sharp tic, tic , tcic.
The food consists of dragon-flies— taken on the wing — and other
insects, with their larvae. It appears to migrate in large parties, for
Mr. Booth has observed several hundreds at daybreak early in May,
all congregated on a small patch of some dozen or twenty acres of j
mud-banks covered with marsh-samphire and other weeds, near
Rye in Sussex, and evidently making their way inland.

The adult above is greenish-brown, with darker striations down the .
centre of each feather ; quills and tail brown, with faint bars on the
latter ; under parts pale brown, with darker spots on the neck and
breast ; under tail-coverts very long, and streaked along the shaft
with dark brown ; bill brown ; legs and feet pale yellowish-brown. 9
Length 5-5 in. ; wing to tip of 3rd and longest quill 2*5 in. Th&B
sexes are alike in plumage. The young are more suffused with buff
on the under parts, and have larger bastard primaries.

SAVI’S WARBLER.

LoCUSTELLA LUSCINIofDES (Savi).

As Professor Newton says, in the best account extant of Savi’s
Warbler (Yarrell’s British Birds, 4th Ed., i. p. 389), there can be little
doubt that this bird was a regular, though never a very abundant,
summer-visitant to England, until the drainage of the fens and meres
of the Eastern Counties unfitted large districts for its habitation.
I he first example ever brought to the notice of naturalists — still at
the Norwich Museum— was shot in Norfolk during the month of
May, in the early part of this century; but having been submitted to
Temminck it was pronounced by him to be a variety of the Reed-
Warbler ; and subsequently some confusion in his mind was, doubt-
less, the cause of his wholly erroneous statement that Ce tit’s Warbler
(a very distinct species, with only te?i tail-feathers) had been killed
in England. The specific distinctness of Savi’s Warbler was first
recognized in 1824 by the Italian ornithologist after whom it is
named. In after years about six examples of the bird, and one or
two of its nests, were taken in Norfolk : while in Cambridgeshire
and Huntingdonshire a larger number of both were obtained in fens
which are, at the present day, with two exceptions, completely drained.
The last British specimen was obtained at Surlingham, Norfolk, in
June 1856; and none are known to be in existence except those

H 2

SAVIS WARBLER.

from the Eastern Counties, where the bird used to arrive about the
middle of April, and at its first coming was not shy.

In Holland, Savi’s Warbler has become rarer of late years, owing
to drainage ; so that at the present time it appears to be very
local, and almost restricted to the reed-beds of the Maas district.
It is also found in summer in similar localities in the Camargue, at
the mouth of the Rhone ; in some parts of Andalucfa in Spain ; the
swamps of Massaciuccoli in Tuscany ; Austrian Galizia ; Poland ;
Southern Russia as far as the Caspian ; and Western Turkestan. It
has been obtained once in Palestine ; and appears to pass the winter
in Egypt, where Capt. Shelley found it tolerably abundant and
generally distributed, frequenting the most luxuriant growth of the
cornfields, as well as the reedy marshes. Canon Tristram observed
it in the oases of the Sahara as far south as 320 N. lat. ; while
northward, in Algeria, Mr. Salvin met with it breeding in the
marshes of Zana; and it has occurred in Morocco. In the islands
of the Mediterranean it appears to be rare, even on migration.

The deep cup-shaped nest, placed in sedges and reed-beds, or in
a tuft of the spiky rush which flourishes in wet ground, is composed
of interwoven sedge-blades, and may be compared to that of a Crake
in miniature. The eggs, 4-6, are white or pale buff in ground-colour,
thickly freckled, and generally girdled with ashy-brown and violet-
grey spots: average measurements 78 by ’57 in. In Andalucfa
nesting begins early in May, but in Galizia and Holland not until the
end of that month ; both sexes taking part in the duties of incubation.
Count Wodzicki says that in the breeding-season the male is excitable
and quarrelsome, displaying also much curiosity on the appearance
of an intruder ; he sings all day in calm clear weather, but seldom
at night, and generally at the top of some commanding reed. From
its monotonous note this Warbler was formerly known to our fen-men
by the names of ‘ red craking reed-wren ’ and ‘ reel-bird ’ ; while in
Holland it is called Sworr and in Germany Schirrvogel. The call-
note is a short krr. The food consists of insects and their larvte.

In the adult the upper parts are reddish-brown ; the fan-shaped
tail (of 12 broad feathers) shows in certain lights some faint transverse
bars ; throat and centre of abdomen white ; upper breast, flanks, and
under tail-coverts buff; bill brown above, paler below; legs and feet
pale brown. Length 5-5 in. ; wing to the tip of the 2nd and
longest primary 2-5 in. The young are said to be paler on the
under parts. Mr. Seebohm states that the few examples which he
has been able to examine from the drier regions east of the Black Sea
are of a more pinky earth-brown than western examples.

accentorin^e

THE HEDGE-SPARROW.

Accentor modularis (Linnceus).

The Hedge-Sparrow is resident and generally distributed through-
out the British Islands : the exceptions being the bleakest of the
Hebrides ; the Orkneys, to which it appears to be only a winter-
visitor ; and the Shetlands, where Saxby states that he only saw it
once— in the month of October. In Sutherland and Caithness it
is extending its range wherever plantations are springing up ; while
in winter it comes nearer to houses, where a more plentiful supply
of food is attainable. On the east coast it is a regular migrant,
extraordinary numbers sometimes arriving on the coast of Lincoln-
shire and Yorkshire in September and October ; and return parties
have been noticed in spring. The Hedge-Sparrow is known by a
variety of names, such as ‘ Dunnock,’ ‘ Dykie,’ ‘ Smokie,’ and 1 Shuffle-
wing’ (the last from its peculiar action), while some well-meaning
writers call it the Hedge-Accentor, to show that it is no relative of
the pert and obnoxious House-Spa.rrow.

In Norway the Hedge-Sparrow breeds as far north as the limit of
forest growth, and eastward it occurs sparingly up to 6o° N. lat. in
the Ural Mountains ; but from the greater part of these northern
regions it migrates southwards in autumn ; large numbers passing by
Heligoland. Throughout Europe south of the Baltic, it is generally

HEDGE-SPARROW.

distributed in summer, down to the northern districts of Spain ; and
Mr. Tait found it nesting in the valley of the Douro, in Portugal ;
but in Southern Spain its familiar eggs have not yet been seen.
In the latter country, and, in fact, along the northern shores of the
Mediterranean, it is a winter-visitor — straggling to the islands and
to Algeria ; Canon Tristram says that it is resident in the Lebanon ;
and Von Heuglin found it in winter in Arabia Petrsea. Its south-
eastern breeding limit appears to be the Caucasus.

The nest is seldom far from the ground, and is generally placed
in hedge-rows and in tangled bushes, or among heaps of dry
sticks ; less frequently in ivy. In a wet cave on Ailsa Craig the late
Mr. R. Gray found one placed on a ledge of rock at the root of
some hart’s-tongue fern. Roots and green moss, with hair and wool
for the lining, are the materials employed ; and the blue eggs,
usually measuring about 578 by '56 in., may frequently be found
early in March ; two, and sometimes three broods being reared in
the season. An old and popular belief, alluded to by Shakespeare,
is that the Hedge-Sparrow is usually selected by the Cuckoo as a
foster-parent for its young ; and the observations of Jenner and
others on the behaviour of nestling Cuckoos, have tended to
strengthen the idea ; for, owing to the situations adopted, the nests
of the Hedge-Sparrow are easily found and watched ; yet it may
be doubted whether the nests of the Meadow-Pipit, Reed-Warbler,
and Pied Wagtail are not equal favourites. The food consists of
spiders, small beetles and other insects, worms, seeds, and, in severe
weather, any crumbs and sweepings that may be picked up in the
neighbourhood of habitations. Its short song is commenced, even
in our islands, as early as February, and in the south of Europe it
may be heard all through the winter.

The adult male has the head and nape bluish-grey, streaked with
brown ; ear-coverts brown ; back and wings reddish-brown, with
blackish streaks ; the lower wing-coverts tipped with buffish-white,
forming a narrow but distinct bar ; quills and tail dusky brown ;
chin, throat and upper breast bluish-grey ; belly dull white ; sides
and flanks pale reddish-brown, with dark streaks ; bill brown, lighter
at the base ; legs and feet yellowish-brown. Length, 5-5 in. ; wing to
the tips of 3rd, 4th, 5th and longest primaries 275 in. The female is
somewhat less in size and duller in colour, and the streaks about the
head, neck and shoulders are smaller and more numerous. 1 he
young have no slate-grey on the head and throat, and are browner
and more spotted than the adults.

ACCENT0R1N-K.

THE ALPINE ACCENTOR.

Accentor collakis (Scopoli).

As might be expected, this mountain-loving species is only a
rare straggler to England. Its first recorded occurrence was at
Cambridge, where two of these birds were noticed climbing about
the buildings or feeding on the grass-plots in King’s College, one of
them being shot on November 22nd 1822. Previously, however,
an example had been obtained near Walthamstow, Essex, by Mr.
Pamplin, in August 1817. Subsequently several birds have been
taken — or their occurrence recorded by competent observers : one
near Lowestoft, Suffolk; one at Wells, Somerset; four in South
Devon ; one near Cheltenham ; one near Scarborough ; two near
Lewes, Sussex ; and one on the Llanberis side of Snowdon, on
August 20th 1870. The last bird was exceedingly tame, hopping
about a small stone-enclosure, where I watched it as long as I dared,
being fearful of attracting the attention of the man who accompanied
a pony ridden by one of the party.

As a straggler the Alpine Accentor has occurred in Heligoland,
Northern Germany, Belgium, and the north of France ; while along
the cliffs of the Loire it is to be found with tolerable regularity in
autumn (Bureau). Its home is, however, in the mountains of Savoy,
and the ranges which, under various names, stretch from the Alps to
the Carpathians, inclusive ; the Appenines ; Sicily ; Sardinia ; the
Pyrenees and their Cantabrian continuation ; the Guadarrama and
other Spanish ranges down to the Sierra Nevada; Greece; Asia
Minor ; the Caucasus, and Northern Persia. Eastward, the distri-

ALPINE ACCENTOR.

bution of this bird can with difficulty be traced, owing to a chain
of forms of questionable distinctness, leading, of course, to well-
segregated species in those highlands of Asia which form the head-
quarters of the Old-World genus Accentor.

The nest, constructed towards the end of May, is placed on
the ground, among crevices of rocks, or under some small bush ; it
is round, compact, and somewhat shallow, the materials consisting
of dry grass-stems, with a slight lining of fine moss, and sometimes
a few feathers of the Ptarmigan (Wilson). The eggs, 4-5, are of a
pale blue, like those of the other members of the genus : average
measurements '95 in. by *68 in. In summer it is to be found up to
the beginning of the snow line, and seldom below the altitude
of 4,000 feet : while on the Tatra Mountains of Galizia, Count
odzicki met with breeding colonies of from twenty to forty pairs ;
a gregariousness unusual, although in autumn small flocks collect.
Beetles and other insects form the food of this bird in summer,
while in autumn it gets as fat as a Bunting on the seeds of Alpine
plants ; nor does it leave the mountains until the snow covers the
seeds, and fotces it downwards to the villages and even to the coast.
It creeps about in the same sly way as our Hedge-Sparrow does ;
like that bird, it undoubtedly hops , and does not run, as some
writers have asserted ; nor does it duck its head and jerk up its tail
every time it utters its note, after the manner of the Chats. Mr.
Seebohm saw it at least fifty times without perceiving anything of
the habit alluded to, and the same is my own somewhat less exten-
sive experience. He describes the song as a rich liquid chick , ich, ich,
ich. The call-note is said to be a plaintive tri, tri, tri.

The adult has the head, nape, and ear-coverts greyish-brown
with darker streaks ; back rather browner, with broader streaks down
the centre of each feather ; wing-coverts dark brown, tipped with
white spots, forming a double bar ; secondaries margined and tipped
with rufous ; primaries dark brown ; tail dark brown, with buffish-
white tips, which are larger on the inner webs and almost absent on
the central feathers; chin and throat white, spotted with black;
breast and centre of abdomen greyish-brown ; flanks mottled with
dark chestnut ; bill black above, yellowish at the base ; legs and feet
pinkish-yellow, in life. The sexes are alike in plumage. The young
have the feathers of the back edged with rufous ; the white patch on
the throat is entirely absent ; and the under parts are of a very dusky
yellowish-brown. Length 7^5 in.; wing to the tip of the 3rd and
longest primary q'l in. ; the bastard primary being very minute.

CINCLID/E.

THE DIPPER.

Cinclus aquaticus, Bechstein.

It may fairly be said that the Dipper, Water- Ouzel or ‘ Water-
Crow ’ is found in the British Islands wherever there are rapidly
running rivers or brooks rippling over rocks and stones ; while, as a
straggler, it occurs on the margins of more sluggish streams.
Localities suitable to its habits present themselves in Cornwall,
Devon and Somerset (where the bird is known as the ‘Water-Colly ’
i.e. Water-Blackbird), Wales and the bordering counties, and, north-
wards, to Scotland, where every river or Highland burn of any con-
sequence is frequented by several pairs ; the range extending to the
Outer Hebrides. In Ireland it is resident in the mountainous dis-
tricts. In winter the mouths of tidal rivers, and the sea-shore are
favourite resorts.

Our Dipper is of rare occurrence in the eastern counties of
England, which are, however, sometimes visited in winter by the
Black-bellied Dipper, Cinclus melanogaster, Brehm ; a form which
some naturalists consider entitled to specific rank. The latter has
little or no chestnut colour in the breast-band, and is found in its
distinctive coloration in Scandinavia, and in Northern Russia ;
visiting Denmark, Heligoland, Northern Germany and Holland.
After examining a considerable number of Dippers, including the

9°

DIPPER.

fine series in the British Museum, it appears to me that C. melano-
gaster is merely a dark form which inhabits the northern countries of
Europe, and the higher mountain regions of the south. Even in
Derbyshire, Dippers from the Peak district at 1,500 feet are darker
than birds from 1,000 feet lower down; and examples from the
upper portions of the narrow valleys of the Pyrenees above Luz,
and from the lofty Cantabrian Mountains, in North-western Spain,
are undistinguishable from Scandinavian specimens. Lower down,
and also on the river Genii near Granada, the Dippers have a broad
chestnut band, and belong to a race intermediate between our
British form and another, paler on the back, called by separatists
C. albicollis ; the latter inhabiting the Alps, the Carpathians, Italy
and Greece. From the Caucasus and Asia Minor eastward to
Tibet, intergraduating races lead to the browner-backed C. cash-
miriensis ; while in the Atlas Mountains is found yet another form,
distinguished by Canon Iristram as C. minor. Under these cir-
cumstances I have considered it advisable to treat both the forms
of Dipper which occur in our islands under one heading, while
admitting that the extremes of each race are recognizable.

I he nest is a large oval ball of moss, grass, or leaves, with an
entrance low down in the side ; lined with dry grass and dead leaves.
It is placed in a recess under a bridge, in the wall of a mill dam,
in a bank, or on a ledge of rock, often behind a cascade of water ;
sometimes in the boughs of trees overhanging a river. The eggs,
4-6, are of a dull white : average measurements 1 in. by ‘75 in.
Fully fledged young have been found on March 21st ; and not only
are two and even three broods reared in the season, but a second
clutch of eggs is often deposited in the same nest. The song,
begun in autumn, may frequently be heard throughout the winter,
and always early in spring. The food consists of soft-shelled
molluscs, spiders, aquatic beetles and other insects, with their lame ;
many of which are known to be destructive to the spawn of trout
and salmon. In the pursuit of its prey, the bird employs both legs
and wings, using the latter like oars ; while the young are able to
swim freely as soon as they leave the nest.

Adult : head and nape umber-brown ; upper parts mottled with
dark grey and brown ; tail and wing-feathers dark brown ; chin,
throat and upper breast white ; lower breast dark chestnut-brown,
passing into black on the flanks and lower belly ; bill brownish-
black ; legs and feet brown. Length 6-5 in. ; wing 375 in. The
sexes are alike in plumage. The young are greyish-brown above,
and have no chestnut-brown on the under parts.

PANURID/E.

The drainage of the reedy fens and meres has destroyed the
iformer breeding-grounds of the Bearded Tit in Sussex, Kent, Essex,

1 1 Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and Lincolnshire; perhaps
: aided by the greed of collectors — even in Suffolk. The places
where it can now be observed in the nesting-season are mostly in
the Broad-district of Norfolk, and in one locality, which need not be
Ji revealed to the exterminator, in Devonshire. As a straggler it has
1 1 twice occurred in Cornwall; it has been recorded in Dorset, and
: up the Thames valley to Gloucestershire ; also in Nottinghamshire
and Staffordshire. It is a resident species in England, seldom
wandering far from its usual haunts ; and if our indigenous birds
should be exterminated, there is little hope that their place would be
I supplied by migrants from the Continent.

A mere straggler to Heligoland, and rare in Holstein and
; Germany east of the Moselle, it becomes comparatively common in
the great reed-beds of Holland ; visiting Belgium in autumn and
Luxembourg in winter, to escape the severity of the weather. In
France it is principally found in the valley and the delta of the
Rhone, and in the marshes below Narbonne. In Spain I observed
it in considerable numbers on the Albufera lake, near Valencia,
where it is resident ; as it is also in the marshes of Italy and Sicily.

It is found in suitable situations in Poland, Austro-Hungary, South

•

BEARDED TITMOUSE.

Russia— especially in the marshes of the Black and Caspian
Seas— Turkestan, Yarkand and Southern Siberia : the coloration
of specimens becoming gradually paler from England eastward to
Central Asia. The bird has also been observed in Albania, Greece
and Asia Minor.

On the Norfolk Broads the ‘ Reed Pheasant,’ as it is called, often
begins to lay early in April ; the nest being placed near the water,
in sedge, crushed-down reeds, or aquatic plants— never suspended
from the stems— and composed of flat grasses, sedges, and dead
flags, with a lining of the flower of the reed. The eggs, 5-7, are
shining cream-white, sparingly streaked with short wavy lines of
reddish-brown: average measurements 7 by -55 in. Sometimes
two hens occupy the same nest, each laying an egg daily until a
total of 10 is reached. Two broods are produced in the season,
fresh eggs being obtainable up to the early part of August. The
note is a clear, ringing ping, ping ; and when the nest is approached
a plaintive ee-ar, ee-ar is uttered. Even in the winter the birds are
li\ cTy and musical, and at that season they may be seen in flocks of
forty or fifty together ; often roving from the frozen inland waters to
those which are kept open owing to the influence of the tide. The
food consists largely of the seed of the reed in winter ; but in summer
the crops of some individuals have been found closely packed with
such small shell-bearing molluscs as Sucdnea amphibia. In its diges-
tive organs and other points of internal structure this bird shows
no real affinity to the Tits ; and some writers have advocated its
relationship to the Finches ; it is, however, as Professor Newton
remarks, a perfectly distinct form, with no very near relations, and
entitled to be regarded as the representative of a separate family,
the Panuridce.

1 he adult male has the crown bluish-grey ; a black loral patch
descends diagonally from below the eye and terminates in a pointed
moustache ; nape, back and rump orange-tawny ; wings longitu-
dinally striped with huffish-white, black and rufous ; quills brown
with white outer margins ; tail mostly rufous ; chin and thioat
greyish-white turning into greyish-pink on the breast ; flanks orange-
tawny ; under tail-coverts jet black ; bill yellow ; legs and feet
black. Length 6'5 in. ; wing 2'2S in. The female has the head
brownish-fawn, and no black on the moustache or under tail-
coverts ; in other respects she is merely duller than the male. The
young are like the female, but the crown of the head and the middle
of the back are streaked with black.

PARIDif..

THE LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE.

Acredula caudata (Linnmus).

The Long-tailed Titmouse is one of those species which exhibit
a strong tendency to variation under climatic or other conditions ;
and ornithologists must exercise their individual discretion in classing
each form as a race, a sub-species, or a completely segregated
species. In the bird found in Scandinavia, Northern Germany,
Austria and Russia— extending across Siberia to Japan— when fully
adult the head is white ; the purity and extent of that colour
attaining their maximum in the far north. This is the true
A. caudata , as restricted by some authors ; an example of which
has been obtained in Northumberland, while others, as well as
various intergradations between this and the next form, have been
observed. In the Netherlands, Germany west of Cassel, and part
of France, it meets and interbreeds with the form which represents it
in the British Islands, distinguished by its duller tints and by having
the white on the head restricted to the crown. If separated specifi-
cally, this is A. rosea. In the south of France and the north of
Italy, this latter form meets and intergrades with the greyer-backed
A. irbii \ which becomes the representative form in Sicily and Spain.
Although it is difficult to separate any but adult examples of these

long-tailed titmouse.

two forms, yet Herr Lorenz has not hesitated to describe A. irbii
var. caucasica ! Space fails for the enumeration of the Siberian,
Chinese and Japanese forms of Long-tailed Tit upon which specific
names have been conferred; but I may observe that from the
Balkan Peninsula to Persia occurs a really distinct species, A.
tephronata , with a black patch on the throat.

Our form of the Long-tailed Tit is resident and tolerably abundant
throughout England and Wales, wherever the localities are suited to
its habits; and, although somewhat more partial in its distribution in
Scotland, it is by no means uncommon there ; ranging as far west as
Skye, and occurring as a straggler in the Shetlands. In Ireland,
according to Mr. More, it is resident and common.

The nest is oval, with a small hole in the upper part of the side,
and is composed of silvery lichens, green moss, wool and spiders’
webs felted together, and lined with a profusion of feathers and
hair. Its form has procured for its maker the name of ‘ Bottle-Tit ’ ;
while, owing to the materials, the bird is frequently called the
Feather-poke. The nest is often placed in the middle of a thick
whitethorn, holly, or furze-bush ; sometimes in ivy, or high up in
the lichen-covered branches of a tree ; occasionally in tangled masses
of brambles and creepers. The eggs are white, generally more or
less speckled and streaked with light red, but sometimes merely
suffused with that tint : average measurements '53 by '42 in. In
number they are usually 7 to 8 ; but 16 young birds have been
found in the same nest, without any evidence of their being the
production of more than one female. When sitting, the long tail
of the parent-bird is turned over her back, and projects above her
head through the entrance-hole. Two broods are often reared in
the season, and subsequently the family may often be seen flitting in
single file from one hedge-row to another with a remarkably dipping
motion. I he usual note is a shrill zee, zee , zee. The food consists
of insects and their larvae.

Adult male : front and crown white, bordered on each side by a
black line running from the base of the bill over the eye, and
joining the nape and upper back, which are also black ; scapulars and
lower back dull rose ; wings dark brown, margined with white on the
secondaries ; tail-feathers black, the three outer pairs broadly tipped
and margined with white ; cheeks and throat dull white ; upper
breast white with a few black streaks ; belly and flanks dull rose ;
bill, legs and feet black. Length 5 '5 in. ; wing 2^5 in. The female
has rather more black about the head ; the young are duller in
colour and have no rosy tint on the upper parts.

1> A K I D.'E.

the great titmouse.

Parus major, Linnseus.

This species, often called the Ox-eye, is resident and generally
distributed in suitable localities throughout England and Wales,
Ireland, and the greater part of Scotland ; but in the northern and
western portions of the latter it becomes rare ; being only a casual
visitant to the Isle of Skye, and a straggler to the Shetlands.

In the comparatively mild climate of Norway the Great Tit-
mouse is found as far north as the Arctic circle ; but in Russia it
has not been recorded beyond 64° N. lat., while in the valley of
the Yenesei Mr. Seebohm did not find it beyond 58° N. Eastward
it is met with in the wooded districts of Siberia as far as the Pacific
coast and the Amoor. In Mongolia, China and Japan, its repre-
sentative is P. minor : a slightly smaller bird, with the under parts
buffish-white instead of yellow. Our bird is common over the whole
of Europe ; being migratory in the more northern countries, but
resident in the temperate and southern ones, down to the Medi-
terranean. In most of the islands of that sea it is also found,
although but rarely in Malta ; it occurs in the Canaries; is resident
throughout a great part of North Africa ; and abounds in Asia
Minor, Palestine and Persia.

The nest is often commenced in March ; a hole in a tree or wall

GREAT TITMOUSE.

being usually selected ; but many curious situations are on record,
such as the inside of a pump in constant use, a shelf in a three-
cornered cupboard, and the interior of an inverted flower-pot ; one
of the latter in the British Museum containing three new nests !
Sometimes the foundations of old abodes of other birds, such as
Crows, Rooks and Magpies, or squirrels’ dreys, are utilized, but
more frequently on the Continent than in this country. The struc-
ture consists of soft moss, surmounted by a warm bed of hair, wool
and feathers, felted together. The eggs, 6-9, are white, spotted
and blotched with light red : average measurements, 7 by '55 in.
Two broods are produced in the season. The Great Titmouse may
often be seen roving from tree to tree in our gardens and shel-
tered districts ; sometimes hanging back downwards by its strong
claws, while searching for insects, its principal food. No doubt the
bird destroys many buds ; but it is in many cases certain, and always
piobable, that such buds already contained grubs which would not
only have put a stop to the growth of the sprouts, but would have
inflicted further damage upon the trees. In the autumn and winter
it cracks and eats nuts and hard seeds, but on the whole its pre-
dilections are decidedly for ‘animal’ food. In cold weather the
lover of birds may enjoy watching the actions of this and allied
species, by suspending a piece of raw meat, a bone, or a lump of
suet, from some bough or iron standard outside the windows. The
Great Titmouse will attack small and weakly birds, splitting their
skulls with its powerful beak in order to get at their brains ; and it
has even been known to serve a Bat in this manner. Its usual note
in spring resembles the sound produced by sharpening a saw with a
file, and may be heard at a considerable distance ; its call-note is a
low zee ; and some individuals display great power of imitating
other birds.

Adult male : crown of the head bluish-black ; a band of the same
colour descends each side of the neck, behind the white cheeks
and ear-coverts ; on the nape is a small spot of whitish, passing into
yellowish-olive which pervades the mantle; wing-coverts bluish-
grey, with white tips which form a transverse bar; quills dark
brown with paler margins ; tail-feathers slate-grey, the outer pair
tipped and margined with white ; chin, throat, and a stripe down
the centre of the breast to the vent, black ; sides and flanks dull
sulphur-yellow ; bill black ; legs and feet lead-colour. Length
5 '75 in- > wing to the tip of 4th and longest primary 3 in. The
female is duller in colour than the male; the young have a tinge
of yellow on the cheeks.

PAKID.K.

THE COAL-TITMOUSE.

Parus ater,

Linnaeus.

In the Coal-Titmouse, as in the Long-tailed Titmouse, there are
successive variations, the extremes of which become, in the opinion
of some ornithologists, entitled to specific distinction. As Parus
britannicus , Messrs. Sharpe and Dresser have separated our race from
that of the Continent, because the upper back is olive-brown in the
British bird, and slate-grey in the Continental form ; but, while I
admit that a difference in tint is often recognizable, there are inter-
gradations, especially noticeable in specimens from the old pine-
forests of Scotland. Examples from Norfolk, indistinguishable from
those of the Continent, may , of course, be of foreign parentage ;
and so may specimens in the British Museum, from Perthshire,
which are identical with birds from the Vosges, although less purely
grey than those from Japan. Against the migration-hypothesis
must be set the experience of Mr. Gurney, jun., and Mr. Booth, who
never observed the Coal-Tit at sea off the east coast, nor received a
wing of it out of thousands sent from the light-ships ; as well as the
fact that it seldom visits Heligoland. I have therefore treated these

COAI.-TITMOUSE.

forms as climatic races and under one specific head, as done by
Dr. Gadow (Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. viii. p. 40).

The Coal-Tit is a resident species in Great Britain and Ireland,
and appears to have increased during the present century : although
it is still, as a rule, less numerous than the Great and Blue Tits. In
Scotland, while somewhat local, it is fairly distributed ; except in
the Outer Hebrides, Orkneys and Shetlands. On the Continent
the greyer-backed race is found in summer as far north as lat. 65° ;
a partial migration taking place in winter ; but in the central and
southern portions of Europe the bird is generally distributed as
a resident. In Algeria it is represented by P. /edouxi, with cheeks,
nuchal spot and under parts yellow — much like the young of our
bird. In the mountains of Cyprus Dr. Guillemard obtained a form
described by Mr. Dresser as P. Cypriotes (Ibis 1888) ; distinguished
by a tint on the back even browner than in British specimens, a
nearly obsolete nuchal patch, and a greater amount of black on the
throat. In the Caucasus a larger form, P. tnichalowskii, occurs,
intermediate in tint between that of our islands and the typical
race of the Continent ; and under various other names, as the bird
increases in brightness of colour and length of crest, the Coal-Tit is
found across Asia to China and Japan.

The nest, commenced early in April, is placed in a hole in a
tree, a crevice in a wall, and not unfrequently a mouse’s burrow in a
bank or the level ground ; while Mr. Bond found one on the branch
of a fir-tree, close to the bole. Moss and wool, rabbits’ fur or deer’s
hair, are the materials ; the eggs, 6-9, being white, spotted with light
red : average measurements -6 by -45 in. The note is rather more
shrill than that of its congeners. The young of the Coal-Tit are fed
largely upon green caterpillars ; but besides insects, nuts, as well as
seeds — especially those of the Scotch fir, are eaten.

Adult male : crown and nape glossy blue-black, with a while nuchal
spot ; cheeks and sides of the neck white ; back grey, tinged with
olive in most British specimens ; rump brownish-fawn ; quills ash-
brown, with dull white margins to the secondaries ; wing-coverts
tipped with white, which forms two bars; tail ash-brown; throat black;
breast dull white, passing into fawn on the belly and flanks ; bill, legs
and feet dark horn-colour. Length 4^2 in. ; wing 2 '5 in. Female:
slightly duller in colour. Young : no gloss on the head ; cheeks,
nape-spot and under parts suffused with sulphur-yellow; upper
feathers tinged with olive. The white nape of the Coal-Tit readily
distinguishes this species from the Marsh-Tit.

PARID.E.

THE MARSH-TITMOUSE.

Parus palustris, Linnteus.

The Marsh-Titmouse is another of our resident species ; but with
the exception of the Crested Titmouse it is the least plentiful and
the most local of the genus. Its name is somewhat misleading, for
the bird may often be seen in orchards and gardens, and even in
pine-woods ; but it is partial to the vicinity of rivers, and to the
alders and pollarded willows which flourish on swampy ground. In
England, and in suitable parts of Wales, it is fairly common ; but
in Scotland it is very local, and is not known to breed to the north
of the valley of the Forth, where Mr. William Evans obtained a
nest in 1884, at Dunipace. In Ireland it is only recorded from cos.
Antrim, Kildare, and Dublin.

British examples are somewhat browner on the upper parts and
flanks than Continental specimens, and, according to Dr. Stejneger,
they have also shorter tails. Nevertheless the ornithologists who have
described the British Coal Tit as a distinct species, have not been
equally courageous as regards the British Marsh-Tit, in which the
differences between the dull insular and the bright Continental forms
are quite as marked. Dr. Stejneger has emphasized his opinion
of this omission by naming our bird P. palustris dressen ; and, as I
agree with him that it is inconsistent to recognize specific distinct-
ness in the former case and to reject it in the latter, I have treated
the variations in both as merely those of race. In Scandinavia

1 2

ICO

MARSH-TITMOUSE.

north of lat. 6i°, Northern Russia, the Alps and the Carpathians,
the Continental form itself is represented by a larger and still greyer
sub-species or race, P. borealis , variations of which are found across
Asia to Japan. The typical form is distributed throughout Central
and most of Western Europe down to the Pyrenees ; but in Por-
tugal it has not yet been identified ; in Spain, I only observed it
at Granada and Cordova ; it is rare in Southern Italy, and uncom-
mon in Greece. In the latter, as well as in the rest of South-
eastern Europe, Asia Minor, and Northern Persia, it is mainly
replaced by P. liigubr/s, a larger, heavy-billed bird, with a dark
brown head.

I lie Marsh-Titmouse makes its nest in holes in trees — especially
willows and alders — in decayed stumps near the ground, or behind
loose bark, or in burrows made by rats and mice in banks. The bird
has been observed to hew out its own abode, carefully removing in its
bill the chips of wood that would otherwise betray the site, and
it leaves a very narrow entrance, although the hole is often of con-
siderable size inside. The nest itself is composed of moss, wool,
rabbits’ fur and hair felted together, and is often lined with willow-
down ; the eggs, 5-8, are white, spotted with dull red— almost liver-
colour : average measurements -6i by -47 in. The call-note is a
rapidly uttered lay, lay, lay, tay ; the song being a simple sis, sis, sis,
see. The food consists largely of insects, in pursuit of which the
bird has been seen to thrust its bill under the scales of the rough
bark of a Scotch fir, and to prize them off with a forcible jerk ; in
the autumn and winter however, seeds — especially those of the sun-
flower— beech-mast and berries are consumed ; the bird holding
them in its claw like a parrot, while getting out the edible parts. Its
habits during the breeding-season are more retiring than those of
other Tits.

Adult: upper part of head and nape glossy black; cheeks dull
white, turning to buff on the sides of the neck ; back olive-brown,
inclining to grey in Continental specimens : rump rather browner
olive : quills and tail ash-brown with the outer margins paler ; chin
and throat black ; remaining under parts dull white, turning to buff
on the flanks; bill black; legs and feet lead-colour. Length 4-4 in.;
wing to the tips of the 4th, 5th, and longest quills 2^5 in. The sexes
are alike in plumage ; in the young the colours are duller and more
olive-brown.

PARID/E

IOI

THE BLUE TITMOUSE.
Pares c.eruleus, Linnaeus.

The Blue Titmouse is one of the best known of our British birds,
and is generally distributed throughout the greater part of our
islands. In Scotland, however, it does not appear to reach the
Hebrides, and it is rare and very local in the north-west, although
resident in Sutherland and Caithness ; while in the Orkneys and
Shetlands it is only known as a mere straggler. In Ireland it is the

I commonest of the genus. In autumn considerable numbers of Blue
and Oreat Tits arrive on our east coast ; and still larger flocks pass
by Heligoland.

In Norway the Blue Titmouse breeds as far north as lat. 64 , but
further east its range does not extend beyond 6i° N., nor is the bird

I found to the east of the Urals. It is generally distributed over the
remainder of Europe, except in some of the Greek islands ; and it
is common in Asia Minor ; but in Persia it is replaced by P. per-
sicus, a much paler bird, with broader white margins to the greater
wing-coverts. Continental specimens of the Blue 1 itmouse are
brighter than those of our islands, and attain the maximum of
brilliancy in the south of Spain ; while on the other side of the
Mediterranean (which this species has never been known to
cross), in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, we find P. ultramarinus ,
and in the Canaries the insular form P. tcneriffa ; birds with the

102

BLUE TITMOUSE.

same pattern, but with bluish-slate back, blue-black crown, and more
intense coloration. In Central Russia our Blue Titmouse meets
with P. pleskii , a blue-backed pale form, with the belly pure white,
and only a pale yellow spot on the breast ; while in Siberia, Russia,
Poland, and casually in Eastern Germany, we find the larger and
very beautiful Azure Titmouse, P. eyanus, in which pale blue and
white are the prevailing colours. I mention this bird because live
specimens are not unfrequently brought to England, and, sooner
or later, there will probably be an attempt to add it to the
British list.

I he Blue Titmouse makes its nest in April, and generally selects
a hole in a wall or a tree ; but, exceptionally, many curious sites,
too numerous to mention, have been recorded. The bird defends her
nest with great pertinacity, hissing like a snake, and pecking at the
fingers of the intruder in a way which has gained for her the name
of “ Billy-biter.” The nest is composed of wool and moss, with
feathers and hair in varying proportions. The eggs, usually 7-8 (but
as many as 18 are on record), are white, spotted with light red —
more minutely than those of other Tits : average measurements
•58 by ’45 in. Mr. Norgate says that this species and the Great
Titmouse may be encouraged to almost any extent by hanging up
suitable nesting-boxes. The young are fed largely with larvie of the
gooseberry- and winter-moths, Aphides and other insects ; while the
old bird also preys on the grubs of the wood-boring beetles, the
maggots from oak-galls, spiders, &c. In autumn it may perhaps
damage fruit to a small extent ; while in winter a meat-bone hung up
will always prove an attraction. Its note is a harsh chee, chee, chee.

Adult male : forehead, and a line which runs backward over each
eye and encircles the head, white ; crown cobalt-blue ; a blue-
black band runs through the eye to the nape, where it meets a dark
blue band which, crossing the nape and encircling the white cheeks,
joins the bluish-black throat ; mantle and rump yellowish-green ;
tail and wings blue ; the coverts and tertials of the latter tipped
with white ; breast and abdomen sulphur-yellow, with a bluish-black
streak down the middle ; bill blackish ; legs and feet bluish-grey.
Length, 4-2 in. ; wing to the tips of 3rd, 4th, and longest quills 2^4 in.
The female is somewhat duller. The young exhibit less blue and
more yellow in their comparatively dingy plumage.

PARIDjR

103

THE CRESTED TITMOUSE.

Parus cristatus, Linnaeus.

The Crested Titmouse is a resident in a few of the oldest forests
of Scotland, which have not lost their natural growth of firs and
oaks ; and these, it may be sufficient to say, exist principally in the
valleys of the Spey and some neighbouring rivers. The bird is also
said to have been observed in summer in the Pass of Killiecrankie,
and it has undoubtedly occurred in Perthshire in winter ; but it
wanders little from its usual haunts, and one example in Argyleshire
and another near Dumbarton, appear to be the only authenticated
instances of its occurrence in the south-west of Scotland. In England
few of the cases on record can be substantiated, but a bird in the
Museum of Whitby, Yorkshire, was obtained in that vicinity in
March 1872 ; one, examined by Mr. E. P. P. Butterfield, is said to
have been shot in August 1887 near Keighley, in the same county;
and one appears to have been taken in Suffolk about 1847. Not-
withstanding Mr. Blake-Knox’s circumstantial assertions that at
least two had been obtained in Ireland, Mr. A. G. More classes
this with the Blue Rock-Thrush and other “ excluded species ” in
his latest list.

The Crested Titmouse inhabits the pine-forests of Scandinavia

104

CRESTED TITMOUSE.

and Russia to about 64° N. lat. ; and eastward it can be traced as
far as the valleys of the Don and the Volga. In Germany, wherever
conifers are plentiful, and in the higher districts of France, the bird
is to be found in tolerable abundance; it also breeds in Dutch
Brabant, principally in oak-trees, for it is by no means restricted to
firs; and in the Alps, Carpathians, and other ranges of Central
Europe, it is generally distributed. In some parts of the Higher
Pyrenees I found it the most abundant of the genus ; while in the
south of France and in Spain it may often be observed among
trees close by the sea. In the latter country it breeds in the cork-
woods in the vicinity of Gibraltar, as well as on higher ground ; and
it is also common in Portugal. It is not yet known in Morocco
or indeed any part of North Africa, Greece, or Asia Minor.

1 he nest of the Crested Titmouse is, in Scotland, generally
placed in the rotten stump of a fir broken off by the wind ; a hole
being bored in the tree, from two to eight feet above the ground ;
or in old stumps of very' large trees within six inches of the soil.
In Germany, however, the deserted nests of Magpies, Crows, and
squirrels are also utilized ; and the bird has been seen by an excellent
observer to occupy nests built in bushes, apparently those of the
Wren and the Long-tailed Titmouse. The usual materials are moss,
wool and fur, felted together ; the eggs (laid in Scotland towards the
end of April or early in May), from 5-8 in number, are white, boldly
spotted and zoned with light red : average measurements ’62 by ‘48 in.
Two broods are frequently produced in the season. The food of this
bird consists of insects and their larvie, small seeds, and berries.

1 he note is a ptur, re , re , re, ree (Seebohm). The bird is very lively
in its habits, flitting rapidly from one pine to another, and it may
often be seen during winter in company with Creepers, Golden-
crested Wrens and Tits.

In the adult male the feathers of the head are dull black, broadly
tipped with greyish-w’hite, and prolonged so as to form a conspicuous
crest ; a black streak runs from the bill, through the eye, to the
back of the head, whence it descends behind the cheeks, which are
mottled black and white ; belowr this a white band, followed by
another black crescentic line ; back and wings olive-browTn ; quills
and tail hair-brown ; throat and upper breast black ; abdomen dull
white, turning to buff on the flanks ; bill black ; feet and legs lead-
colour. Length 4-5 in. ; wing, to the tip of the 4th and longest
primary, 2^5 in. The female has a shorter crest and less black on the
throat ; and the young are like her, but with hardly any crest.

SITTI I

105

THE NUTHATCH.

Sit 1 a cvksia, Wolf.

The Nuthatch is tolerably common in most of the districts in the
south-east and centre of England which contain old timber. In
the west it is rarer, although perhaps increasing ; as it is in Brecon-
shire and some other parts of Wales, where it was formerly con-
sidered a very uncommon bird. In Lancashire it is seldom seen ;
in Yorkshire it is mostly restricted to the large old parks ; while in
the more northern counties it seems to have decreased during the
present century, and is nowr very rare. In Scotland it has been
obtained in Berwickshire and Haddingtonshire, and observed in
Skye ; while the late R. Gray records its reported occurrence on
Bressay, in the Shetlands. In Ireland it is as yet unknown.

On the Continent the northern limit of this species appears to
be the peninsula of Jutland, where it meets its close ally with nearly
white under parts, S. europcea , which replaces .S', ccesia in Scandinavia,
Northern Russia and Siberia. From the Baltic southwards to the
Mediterranean and Black Seas, our species is generally distributed;
Loche records it from Algeria and Capt. S. G. Reid from North-
western Morocco ; and it has been obtained in Asia Minor and Pales-
tine. Eastward, it cannot with certainty be traced, owing to the

io6

NUTHATCH.

presence of such questionable species as 6'. rupicola in Persia and
£ cashmirensis in Northern India. Our bird is absent from Malta,
Sardinia and Corsica ; but in the last-named island it is represented
by a distinct species, S. ivhiteheadi, with white under parts, and, in
the male, a jet-black head, named by Mr. R. B. Sharpe after' its
discoverer.

The Nuthatch begins to breed about the middle of April ; gene-
rally making its nest in some hole in a branch of a tree, and occa-
sionally between the buttresses of the trunk, close to the ground.
A hole in a wall is sometimes selected ; and, in every instance, the
aperture is filled up with clay and small stones, leaving only a narrow
orifice for entrance. An extraordinary nest in the British Museum,
presented by Mr. F. Bond, was placed in the side of a haystack, and
measured thirteen inches by eight, the weight of the clay being
eleven pounds. Some distance inside the nest is a bed of dry leaves
or the scales of the Scotch fir, on which the eggs, 5-7, are deposited,
these are white, spotted with reddish-brown — larger and more
boldly blotched than those of the Great Titmouse : average measure-
ments 77 by -56 m. In spring the male utters a loud and shrill
tui-tui-tui ; the bird has also a bubbling or churring note. The
food during a portion of the year consists largely of hazel-nuts, which
the bird fixes in some crevice, and then proceeds to hammer with
its bill until the shell is broken, each stroke being delivered with the
full strength and weight of the body, working from the hip-joint ;
whence the names of Nuthatch, /.<?., Nuthack, and Nutjobber. It
is partial to beech-mast, and will eat many kinds of hard seeds, with
acorns, and even corn in times of scarcity ; but during a considerable
portion of the year it feeds on insects, for which it searches on
trees and on the ground. At such times its motions resemble those
of a mouse rather than of a bird, being conducted upwards, side-
ways, or downwards with equal facility ; and it is stated on good
authority that, when sleeping, the head and back are downwards.

Adult male : the upper parts generally of a bluish-slate colour ;
wing-quills greyish-brown ; centre tail-feathers slate-grey, the re-
mainder black at their bases, barred and tipped with white and
grey ; a black streak runs from the base of the bill through the eye
to the side of the neck ; above the eye a narrow white streak ; chin
and cheeks white ; throat and belly rich buff ; flanks and under tail-
coverts streaked with dark chestnut ; bill horn-colour, lighter at the
base ; legs and feet brown. Length 5 ‘5 in. ; wing 3 ’4 in. The female
is rather duller in colour, and the young are conspicuously so.

TROGLODYTIDiE.

107

THE WREN.

Troglodytes pArvulus, K. L. Koch.

The Wren, a bird as familiar in our traditional associations as the
Robin Redbreast, is generally distributed throughout the British
Islands ; being a resident even in the Shetlands. A single example
from St. Kilda has been described by Mr. Seebohm as a new species,
T. hirteusis (Zool. 1884, p. 333) ; but Mr. Dresser, who subsequently
examined seven examples, considers that the supposed points of
difference are all to be found in specimens from various parts of
Europe, and that the bird is not worthy of specific rank (Ibis 1886,
p. 43). By this time the few pairs which inhabited the island have
probably been extirpated. Although the Wren is a resident species
with us, its numbers are largely increased by autumnal immigration ;
many being found in October, according to Mr. Cordeaux, on
and near the treeless coasts of Lincolnshire and the south of \ ork-
shire, and, perhaps less abundantly, in Norfolk.

Iceland and the Fceroes are inhabited by a larger and darker
Wren, more barred beneath, which has been separated as T. borealis.
Dr. Stejneger has distinguished the Wren found in the south-west of
Norway as T. bergensis ; but with this exception the typical form
inhabits the whole of Europe, ranging to 64° N. in Sweden, and
nearly as high in Finland and Russia. Eastward, the Ural Mountains
appear to be its boundary, and in the Volga district it is chiefly
observed in winter. Statements respecting its occurrence in the
Canaries and Madeira require confirmation ; but it is found in

io8

WREN.

Morocco and Algeria, although absent from Egypt ; and it has been
met with in the Caucasus, Northern Persia, Asia Minor and the
north of Palestine. The representative species in Central Asia is
T. pallidus , beyond which it is unnecessary to sketch the distribu-
tion of the genus, Mr. Sharpe having already done so in the
‘ Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum,’ vol. vi. pp. 268-280,
where our bird bears the name of Anorthura troglodytes.

The Wren is a very early breeder; making its nest in shrubs, bushes
overgrown with brambles, hedges, banks, the sides of walls covered
with ivy, trees, hayricks, thatched roofs and other situations.
The materials employed are principally leaves and moss, although
dry grass is often used ; sometimes with a lining of feathers. The
structure, which is comparatively large, is domed above, and has a
small hole in the side; the eggs, about 6-8 (though 16 young have
been found in one nest), are white, generally spotted with red :
average measurements ‘67 by "5 in. Two broods are produced in
the season. It is a common belief, and one not to be rashly dis-
countenanced, that if the inside of a Wren’s nest is touched the
bird will desert it ; but if care be used such is by no means in-
variably the case. Imperfect nests are frequently found near an
occupied one, and owing to the notion that they are built by the
male bird for his lodging at night, they are commonly known as
“ cocks nests. ” In winter, however, old nests and holes in walls or
thatched roofs are undoubtedly resorted to by Wrens in some num-
bers for warmth and shelter. The song, loud for the size of the
bird, may be heard during the greater part of the year ; the call-
note is a sharp clicking chit. The food consists principally of
insects, for which search is made in all sorts of crannies, but in winter
the bird will eat seeds and any odd scraps.

The adult has a dull white streak over the eye ; upper parts red-
dish-brown, with narrow transverse darker bars ; outer quills umber-
brown, barred with buff and dark brown on the exterior webs ; under
parts buffish-white on the chin and throat, becoming browner on the
belly and flanks, the latter being somewhat barred ; bill dark brown
above, paler below, legs and feet light brown. Length 3-5 in. ; wing
1 '9 in. The female is smaller, duller above and browner beneath,
and has paler legs. The young are less distinctly barred.

CKRTH ] I I VK.

] 09

THE TREE-CREEPER.

Certhia famiuAris, Linnreus

Although tolerably numerous, the Tree-Creeper is not very fre-
quently observed, owing to its small size, modest colours, and the
quickness with which it shifts its position on the trunk or branch of
the tree whereon it is seeking for spiders and other insects, which
lurk in the crevices of the bark. It is generally distributed through-
out Great Britain from Cornwall to Caithness, straggling to the
Orkneys and Shetlands, and being resident in Skye, although not
found in the Outer Hebrides. In Ireland it is common in those
districts where old timber prevails.

In Norway the Tree-Creeper is abundant in all the lower conifer-
woods up to the Trondhjems-fiord, and eastward it occurs in
Sweden, Russia, and across Siberia to the Pacific, as far north as
trees flourish. Southward, it is found in Japan, Northern China,
and Asia north of the Himalayas — in and south of which several
distinct species replace it ; and, turning westward, in Persia, Asia
Minor, Algeria, the basin of the Mediterranean generally as far as
the Spanish Peninsula, and northwards throughout Europe wherever
suitable localities present themselves. A few ornithologists dis-
tinguish an Alpine form as C. brachydaclyla, or C. costce. In North

1 IO

TREK-CREEPER.

America, from 50° N. lat. to Mexico, is found a very close ally which
trinomialists designate C. familiaris americana.

I owards the end of April the rl ree-Creeper makes its nest ; usually
selecting for it a crevice between the partially detached bark and
the trunk of a tree, or a narrow cleft in the bole ; not unfrequently
it is behind the loose plaster, or under the straw eaves of a shed
or dwelling ; sometimes in the foundation of the nest of a large
bird of prey, and in piles of timber or bricks. Fine straw and
twigs, roots, grass and moss are the materials employed, with a
lining of wool, feathers, and fine strips of inside bark, often that of
the birch-tree. The eggs, 6-9, are white, spotted and blotched with
reddish-brown and dull purple, especially towards the larger end :
average measurements '62 by '47 in. Incubation is assiduously per-
formed by the female, who is, however, rather shy, slipping off
her nest on the approach of an intruder. Two broods are generally
reared in the season. The food, as already observed, consists princi-
pally of insects, and occasionally of seeds of the Scotch fir. The
song of this little bird is shrill, but rather pleasing ; and I have
noticed that in the bright climate of the south of Europe, in the
gardens of the Alhambra at Granada, for instance, it is much more
prolonged and joyous than in the north. The call-note is a feeble
cheep , cheep. When climbing, the stiff-pointed feathers of the tail
are depressed; the bird ascending by their assistance and by that of
its long curved claws, with a short jerking movement, and generally
in a spiral direction. In winter the Tree-Creeper may often be
observed in company with several species of Titmouse, or Golden-
and Fire-crested Wrens.

The adult has a dull white streak over the eye ; feathers of the
head, neck, and back dark brown with pale centres ; lower back
rufous-brown ; wing-quills dark brown, barred and margined ex-
teriorly with buffish-white ; tail of twelve stiff-pointed feathers, dull
reddish-brown, with paler shafts ; chin, throat, breast and belly
silvery-white ; flanks and vent suffused with buff ; the rather long,
slender, curved bill dark brown above, yellowish below ; legs and
feet, light brown. Length from the forehead to the tip of the tail
about 4’5 in. ; wing 2^5 in. The sexes are alike in plumage. The
young have a more rufous-yellow tinge than the adults, and the bill
is very short and almost straight.

CERT HU D/E.

r I I

Tichodroma muraria (Linnaeus).

This inhabitant of the mountainous regions of Europe and Asia
is a very rare straggler to England. The first authenticated instance
was furnished by the late Thomas Bell, who published (Zool. s.s. p.
4664, and Tr. Norfolk and Norw. Nat. Soc. ii. p. 180) a letter from
Robert Marsham of Stratton-Strawless, Norfolk, to Gilbert White of
Selborne, dated October 30th 1792, containing an accurate descrip-
tion of a Wall-Creeper which had just been shot whilst flying about
his house. Eighty years later Mr. F. S. Mitchell stated (Zool. s.s. p.
4839) that one, now in his possession, was shot on May 8th 1872, at
Sabden, at the foot of Pendle Hill, in Lancashire, when flying around
a tall chimney, and attracting the attention of the mill-hands by its
crimson-banded wings.

THE WALL-CREEPER.

r 12

WALL-CREEPER.

The Wall-Creeper breeds sparingly in suitable localities in the
Vosges and the Jura; while stragglers have occurred on the Rhine
as far north as Coblentz, and in the valleys of the Moselle and the
Meuse. Along the Loire it is not very uncommon, and seven or
eight examples have been obtained as far west as Nantes ; most of
them on the walls of the old chateau which overlooks the busy
wharves. In the mountains of Savoy and Switzerland it is generally
distributed, being perhaps more abundant in the Grisons than in
any other district ; it is also resident in the Basses-Alpes, Provence,
the mountainous regions of the mainland of Italy, Sicily, Sardinia
and Llba ; while Professor Giglioli has observed it climbing about
walls in Florence. Throughout the Pyrenees and the Cantabrian
chain, and in the loftier ranges of Portugal and Spain down to the
Sierra Nevada, it is comparatively abundant. East of the Alps we
find it in Tyrol, Styria, the Carpathians, Greece, Asia Minor, the
Caucasus, and the mountains of Asia as far as China ; while Riippell
has recorded it from Egypt and Abyssinia.

The nest, composed of moss, straw, and grass, lined with hair,
wool and feathers, is placed in some crevice of the rocks ; and the
eggs, 3~5> are white, very finely spotted with reddish-brown : average
measurements 78 by '56 in. Two broods are sometimes produced
in the season ; the task of incubation devolving upon the female.
The call-note is a shrill pli-pli-pli-pli-pli, like that of the Lesser
Spotted Woodpecker. The food consists of ants’ eggs, spiders, and
insects and their larvae generally ; in search of which the bird may
be seen climbing up the face of a cliff by successive bounds, and
moving its wings like a butterfly, which indeed, from the red and
white markings displayed, it much resembles. Its course is gene-
rally zig-zag, and the tail is not used as a means of progression.

Adult male in breeding-plumage : slate-grey above, darker on the
head, and darkest on the rump ; wing-coverts mostly crimson ; quills
blackish-brown, tipped with dull white, the 2nd to 5th each with a
basal and a sub-apical white spot on the inner web, from the 6th
inwards only a basal spot ; outer webs of nearly all the primaries
rich crimson, forming a bar ; tail black, tipped with grey and white ;
throat and breast black ; remaining under parts dark grey ; bill, legs
and feet black. The female has rather less black on the throat. In
winter that part becomes greyish-white in both sexes ; the head is
browner and the upper parts are paler. The young bird at first ex-
hibits less crimson and has a shorter bill, but the black throat is
acquired the first spring.

MOTACILLID.-K.

■13

THE PIED WAGTAIL.

Motacilla i,t)gubris, Temminck

The Pied Wagtail was first distinguished from the White Wagtail
of the Continent by Temminck, who conferred upon it the above
scientific name; in ignorance of which, Gould, seventeen years later,
called our bird M. yarrelli. Throughout the British Islands it is a
common and generally distributed species ; visiting the extreme
north of Scotland in March and remaining to breed, but migrating
southwards, as a rule, on the approach of wrinter. It nests,
sparingly, in some of the Hebrides and Orkneys ; but in St. Kilda
and in * the Shetlands it is only known to occur on the spring
and autumn migrations. In Ireland it is common and on the whole
resident, but is partially migratory as regards the northern districts ;
and even in England there is a general movement southward in
autumn, and northward in spring. The late Mr. Knox observed
large flocks early in September, mainly composed of young of the
year, travelling along the coast of Sussex in the direction of Kent,
whence the transit to the Continent is shortest ; while from the
middle of March numerous small parties, consisting of old males
(the females being later), have been seen to arrive from the sea where
the Channel is wider.

On the Continent the Pied Wagtail is almost restricted to the

PIED WAGTAIL.

1 14

western portion. It occurs and probably breeds sparingly, in the
south west of Scandinavia; visits Denmark ; passes over Heligoland
in considerable numbers ; and is found in Holland, Belgium and
the north of France. In the north-west of the latter country it
appears to breed regularly ; in the south-west I observed that males
of this species and of the YV hite Wagtail were in full plumage from
the latter part of December to the end of March, after which both
disappeared. It arrives in Portugal about October 20th, leaving
in March; in the latter month I obtained an adult male at Seville ;
and it occurs near Tangier in Morocco. Eastward, the Pied Wagtail
has been met with in autumn from Nice to Sardinia, Sicily, and
Malta.

Breeding generally begins early in April ; the nest— of moss, dry
grass and roots, lined with hair and feathers — being in some cleft of
a bank, wall, rock or quarry, a decayed tree, the thatch of a building,
a faggot stack, or even in an open turnip-field ; and the Cuckoo
often places her egg in it. The eggs, 4-6, are greyish-white, closely
speckled with ash-brown : average measurements • 8 by "6 in. Two
broods are often reared in the season. The bird feeds principally on
insects obtained in the meadows, moist ground, and shallow water,
to which it is partial ; on the coast it eats the flies &c. which it finds
amongst the sea-drift ; Mr. Tait observed it hovering over the
water to pick up the floating ova of a small crab ; and Mr. Booth
says that it is fond of glow-worms. The call-note is a sharp chiz-zic\
the song, seldom heard except in spring, is short but agreeable.
The quick running movements of this pretty bird, and the lively
agitation of its long tail, must be familiar to every one.

Adult male in breeding-plumage : forehead and sides of the head
and neck pure white, contrasting strongly with the deep black of
the crown, nape, throat and breast ; mantle, rump and wing-coverts,
black; the latter margined with white, which forms a double bar;
quills blackish, the inner secondaries — nearly as long as the pri-
maries— margined with white on the outer edge ; tail-feathers black,
except the two outer pairs which are mainly white ; belly white ;
sides and flanks blackish ; bill, legs and feet black. Length 7-410. ;
wing 3-5 in. The female has a shorter tail; the back is lead-grey
with somewhat darker streaks ; and the black on the crown and
breast is less extensive. After the autumn moult both sexes
lose the black chin and throat, and become greyer on the back.
The young are like those of M. a//>a, next to be described, but
darker on the upper parts.

MOTACILLID/K.

”5

THE WHITE WAGTAIL.

Motacilla alba, Linnaeus.

This Continental representative of the familiar species already
described was first recognized in England by Mr. F. Bond, who
found two pairs at Kingsbury Reservoir, Middlesex, in the latter part
of May 1841. Since that date it has occurred in a good many
counties of England, being not uncommon in Cornwall in spring ;
and it is said to have nested in Devonshire, the Isle of Wight,
Kent, Middlesex, Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire. Mr.
Dpcher observed two in September 1883, on his lawn at Felt-
well, Norfolk ; while of a pair of birds obtained with their nest
and young in that county, presented to the British Museum by
Lord Walsingham, the male is a White and the female is a Pied Wag-
tail. Dr. Gunther has informed me of a similar case of interbreed-
ing in Suffolk. Mr. Cordeaux mentions several occurrences in
Lincolnshire, in spring ; competent observers have noticed it in
Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumberland ; and on
May 24th 1885 I watched an adult, probably a male, by some
lead-mills near Langley Castle in Northumberland. In Scotland
it has been observed in some of the southern counties ; while
pairs have been noticed at Gairloch, in Ross-shire. Mr. Booth saw
several pairs in April feeding on the river bank at Inverness, and
he also observed a number on the island of Lewis, early in May
1877, after rough weather. Saxby says that he obtained it in Shet-

WHITE WAGTAIL.

I 16

land. In Ireland it is of very rare occurrence, and perhaps the only
authenticated example is that shot by Mr. R. Warren in co. Mayo
on April 25th 1851.

The White Wagtail is a summer-visitor to the Fieroes and Iceland,
straggling to the island of Jan Mayen and the south of Greenland.
On the Continent it is found over the whole of Europe and of Northern
Asia ; Siberian birds being of a purer grey on the upper parts, and
wintering in India and Burma ; while the ordinary form occurs in
Asia Minor, Palestine and Northern Africa, in summer and winter,
visiting Senegambia on the west and Zanzibar on the east in the
latter season. It is one of the earliest species to return to the
northern summer quarters from which cold and want of food force
it to migrate at the end of autumn ; the males arriving about a
week before the females. It has recently been found in Madeira.

The situations selected for its nest are similar to those chosen
by its congener ; but the White Wagtail has further been known
to breed in the burrow of a Sand-Martin, and also to make its nest
in an open place in the middle of a strawberry-bed. The eggs,
5-7, are sometimes of a rather bluer grey, with bolder ashy mark-
ings, than those of the Pied Wagtail ; but frequently they cannot be
distinguished, and their average measurements are identical. In
general habits, food and haunts, the White Wagtail hardly differs
from our indigenous bird ; and in spite of assertions that it does
not follow the plough, I have seen flocks whitening the furrows in
Spain and the south of P'rance, as Mr. Gurney jun. has in Algeria.

The adult male in breeding-plumage has the forehead and the sides
of the head and neck white; crown and nape black; back, rump
and upper wing-coverts ash-grey, the latter and the median ones
tipped with white ; quills blackish, the long inner secondaries edged
outside with white ; tail-feathers black, except the two outer pairs
which are mainly white ; chin, throat, and breast black ; abdomen
white; flanks grey; bill, legs and feet black. Length 7-5 in. ;

wing 3-5 in. The female has a shorter tail; her colours are less
pure, and the black portions are more restricted. After the autumn
moult the chin and throat are white, and the black is reduced to a
crescentic band. In the young the white forehead, cheeks and throat
are tinged with yellow, and the head and mantle are olive-grey, but
males soon show white on the forehead and a little black on the
crown. By the following spring the olive tint has disappeared,
and the young have a remarkably light appearance.

MOTACILI.ID/E.

THE GREY WAGTAIL.

Motacilla melanope, Pallas.

This beautiful species, easily recognizable by its yellow tints and
exceptionally long tail, is resident or partially migratory throughout
those portions of the British Islands where rapid streams are found
in the vicinity of mountains, or even hills ; but to the flat country
and the sea-coast it is only a visitor on migration and in winter. It
breeds regularly in Devon, Somerset, Dorset and Wilts ; sparingly
in Hampshire, Sussex and Kent ; and, as an exception, it has been
known to nest once at Chenies in Buckinghamshire, according to
Gould. In Wales and the neighbouring counties, and along the
Pennine range on both sides, it is common, increasing in numbers
to the northward; while in Scotland it is generally distributed,
although not very abundant in Sutherland and Caithness. It
breeds sparingly in Skye, and is a visitor to the Orkneys and the
Shetlands. In Ireland, according to Mr. More, it is resident in
small numbers, but local.

On the Continent the Grey Wagtail barely reaches the extreme
south of Sweden, and is very rare in Northern Germany, while in
Russia it is hardly found beyond the latitude of Moscow ; but
in the mountainous and even rolling ground of the central and
southern parts of Europe it is fairly common ; breeding as far south
as the basin of the Mediterranean, where it is a resident, as it is
also in the Canaries, Madeira and the Azores. Eastward, it is found

G K E Y WAGTA 1 L.

in summer across Asia, south of about 67° N. lat., to Persia,
Turkestan, the Himalayas, Northern China and Japan ; wintering

in India, Burma, the Indo-Malayan islands, Palestine and Northern
Africa.

I he nest is usually near a stream, in some rugged portion of a
bank, occasionally among the stems of a shrub ; very frequently in
a rough stone wall or some crevice of the rocks. In the Pyrenees,
where the Grey Wagtail is very abundant, I observed a nest behind
a pair of votive crutches at the entrance to the grotto at Lourdes.
I he materials employed are moss, soft grass and fine roots, with
abundance of hair for a lining. The eggs, usually 5 in number,
are greyish-white, mottled with pale clay-colour, and sometimes
marked with a few black hair-streaks at the larger end : average
measurements 75 by ’55 in. Two broods are occasionally reared in
the season ; the first eggs being laid in the latter half of April in
England, but earlier in the south of Europe ; and the male takes
his share in the task of incubation. The food consists of aquatic
and other insects, and small molluscs ; and at the baths of Dax in
the Landes, a pair of birds which frequented the courtyard of the
hotel used to enter the open windows of the corridors with the
utmost familiarity, in search of flies. Its call-note is a sharply-uttered
s/s si. In its constant and rapid movements this species resembles
its allies, but it is decidedly more addicted to perching on trees by
the side of streams.

I he adult male in breeding-plumage has the crown and ear-
coverts slate-grey, with a narrow white streak above the eye ; below
the lore, which is black, a broad white line runs to the neck, which
is slate-grey, as are the mantle and rump ; wing-feathers brownish-
black, the long secondaries margined with buffish-white ; upper tail-
coverts greenish-yellow ; the outside pair of tail-feathers white, the
next two pairs also white with a black stripe along part of the outer
web, the remainder brownish-black ; chin and throat black ; breast
to lower tail-coverts sulphur-yellow; bill dark brown; legs and feet
pale brown. Length, from 7 to 7 '5 in., depending upon the length
of the tail, which is often shorter than the average in specimens
from the Azores, 1 urkey and Siberia; wing 3 3 in. The female has
a shorter tail than the male ; her tints are duller and more greenish,
and she has less black on the throat. That part becomes white in
both sexes in autumn, when a buff tint appears on the breast. The
young are browner than the female, and the eye-stripe is buff.

1 his species has bred, in captivity, with the Pied Wagtail, and the
hybrids proved fertile.

MOTACILLID/K.

I 19

THE BLUE-HEADED WAGTAIL.

Motacili.a flava, Linnaeus.

In 1832 it was pointed out by Gould that the Blue-headed Wag-
tail of the Continent was distinct from the Yellow Wagtail, which is
a regular visitor to our islands ; and two years later Doubleday shot
an example of the former at Walton-on-the-Naze. Since that date
a considerable number have been obtained or observed ; mostly in
the south-western, southern, and eastern counties of England ; while
the bird has undoubtedly nested on several occasions near Gateshead
in Durham, as certified by Mr. John Hancock. Asa rule, however,
the Blue-headed Wagtail can hardly be considered as more than
an irregular— though perhaps overlooked — -visitor on migration ;
generally in spring, but not unfrequently in autumn. In Scotland it
has been shot near Edinburgh and Dunbar ; and Saxby states that he
obtained it on migration in Shetland. Mr. Blake-Knox has asserted
that it occurs in Ireland, but Mr. More excludes it from his list.

The Blue-headed Wagtail has straggled to the Faeroes ; and I
have examined a specimen in the British Museum obtained by
Gould in summer as far north in Norway as the Dovre Fjeld.
Southward, it is found throughout Europe ; breeding in the west
down to the shores of the Mediterranean, where it is partially resi-
dent, and pushing its migrations in winter to the south of Africa.
Eastward, it is found across Asia to the Pacific ; and also in Alaska,
where it breeds up to 64° N. lat. This Wagtail runs to varieties
which are, in the opinion of some ornithologists, entitled to take rank
as species ; but upon this intricate question I must refer my readers

I 20

KI.U K-H EA 1 1 KI > WAGTAIL.

to Mr. Sharpe’s views (Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. x. pp. 516-532). I
have only room for the broad statement that in Upper' Scandi-
navia. Northern Europe and Siberia, migrating as far as the south of
Africa and India, there is a form, the male of which has a nearly
black crown and no eye-streak, known as AT. viridis of Gmelin, or
better as AT. borealis of Sundevall ; two examples of which are said to
have occurred at Penzance. In the basin of the Mediterranean is
found a close ally, AT. cviereicapilla of Savi, with grey crown but
very little eye-streak ; while in South-eastern Europe and Central
Asia there is an easily recognizable form with a very black head and
no eye-stripe, known as AT.feldeggi or AT. melanocephala. When, as
in Hungary, this black-headed bird exhibits a narrow white eye-stripe,
it is AT. paradoxa ; when, as at Lenkoran on the Caspian, the stripe
is pale yellow, the bearer is AT. xanthophrvs.

Breeding commences in the latter half of May; the nest being
placed on the ground among herbage in meadows and corn-fields.
It is composed of fine roots, grass and moss, lined with horsehair

and a few feathers ; the eggs, 4-6, being yellowish-white, clouded
with pale brown, and sometimes scrolled with black at the larger
end : average measurements 78 by -56 in. The food consists of
insects and their larva; ; and the bird is very partial to small flies, in
pursuit of which it may be seen strutting and fluttering within a few
inches of the muzzles of grazing cattle or horses. The call-note is
a shrill chit-up.

I he adult male in breeding-plumage has the crown and nape
bluish-grey ; lores and ear-coverts dark slate-grey; over each eye and
ear-covert a white streak ; mantle olive, tinged with yellow; wing-
coverts dark brown, tipped with yellowish-white, forming a double
bar; secondaries margined with the same colour; quills dark brown;
tail-feathers blackish-brown, except the two outer pairs, which are
white with black edges to the inner webs ; chin and a line below the
lores white ; throat, breast and tail-coverts bright gamboge-yellow ;
bill, legs and feet black. Length 6 ‘25 in. ; wing 3 ‘2 in. The
female is rather shorter : the head has a more olive tint, and the
yellow of the under parts is less pronounced. In autumn both sexes
acquire an olive-brown tinge. The young are greenish-brown above,
with a rough V-shaped line of bro wn spots from the nape to the breast,
and the under parts are only pale yellow ; but the white eye-stripe
which serves to distinguish typical examples of this species from
our Yellow Wagtail is always present. Young males often display
in their first spring some dark mottlings on the throat, grey patches
on the head, and a considerable amount of yellow on the shoulders.

M0TAC1LLID.K.

I 2 I

THE YELLOW WAGTAIL.

Motacilla raii (Bonaparte).

The Yellow Wagtail is a regular summer-visitor to the British
Islands, arriving early in April, and leaving again in September. In
Cornwall and Devon it is usually seen on migration ; but from
Somersetshire onwards, it is generally distributed as a breeding species
throughout England and Wales, in suitable localities. In Scotland
it is locally distributed as far north as the Firths of Forth and Clyde,
and it is said to breed in Inverness- and Aberdeenshire ; but
recent observers have failed to verify its reported occurrences in
Sutherlandshire, the Orkneys, or the Shetlands. To Ireland it is
a summer-visitor in small numbers, but is very local ; the district
about Lough Neagh, and the vicinity of Dublin, being the only
parts in which it is known to breed up to the present time.

Although the Yellow Wagtail has been obtained as a straggler on
Heligoland, Borkum, and the coast of Holland, it is only west-
ward of Belgium that it is known as a regular migrant, and the
Blue-headed Wagtail is still the prevailing species in the breeding-
season as far as Dieppe, west of which our Yellow Wagtail is
said to predominate. On migration, it visits the south of France
and both sides of the Iberian Peninsula with great regularity ; but
it is only of rare and accidental occurrence in Italy, Sicily, and
Malta. Southward, its migrations extend down the coast of W. Africa
as far as the Gaboon. A large and isolated colony is said to inhabit

122

YELLOW WAGTAIL.

the valley of the Lower Volga, the Caspian region, and Turkestan
as far east as the Altai Mountains ; the migrations of this section
reaching along the eastern side of Africa as far as Natal. In Eastern
Asia it is represented by M. taivana.

The nest, built in the latter part of April and generally well con-
cealed, is placed in a depression or a small furrow of the ground in
a meadow or corn-field ; sometimes in a bank, or at the foot of a wall
among the long rank herbage. Even in the same locality there is
considerable variation in the materials employed ; moss and dry
grass being generally used for the exterior, while the lining may be
of feathers, hair, rabbit’s-down, or fine roots. The eggs, 4-6, are
greyish-white mottled with clay-brown, and have often some black
hair-streaks : average measurements 78 by -56 in. By the end of
May the young are able to fly, and a second brood is sometimes
reared in the season. The food consists of the small thin-shelled
molluscs which the bird finds among the water-meadows, and various
kinds of insects ; and it is as partial as the Blue-headed Wagtail
to the proximity of grazing cattle. In its note and in the bold
curves of its flight, it also resembles that species.

Adult male in breeding-plumage : lores, ear-coverts and back,
greenish-olive; the forehead yellower; a sulphur-yellow streak over
the eye and ear-coverts on each side; wing-coverts and quills dusky-
brown, tipped and margined with pale buff ; tail-feathers blackish-
brown, except the two outer pairs which are white, merely edged with
black on the inner webs ; under parts rich sulphur-yellow ; bill, legs
and feet black. Length about 6 in. ; wing 3-1 in. The female is
browner on the upper parts, and the eye-streak and under parts are
less yellow. In autumn the adults of both sexes become much
paler. The young in the first and nestling-plumage, which is only
worn for a short time, are greenish-brown on the upper parts, and
buff on the breast, much resembling young Pipits ; later they
become yellow on the vent and under parts, and gradually assimi-
late themselves to their parents, but the sides of the neck and the
breast are spotted with dark brown for some time.

For the Wagtails which exhibit a prevalence of yellow in their
plumage and have also a longer hind-claw than the Black-and-white
Wagtails, Cuvier established the genus Budytes ; and as the Grey
Wagtail presented intermediate characters, Kaup invented for it the
genus Calobatcs.

MOTACILLID/E.

123

THE TREE-PIPIT.

An thus trivialis (Linnseus).

The Pipits present a superficial resemblance to the Larks, but from
these they differ considerably in structure, moulting, and some of
their habits; while they agree with the Wagtails in almost eveiy
respect, except in the coloration of the plumage ot the adults. Like
Wagtails, Pipits moult twice in the year partially in spring and
they are equally fond of bathing ; while Larks have only an autumnal
moult, and dust themselves over, instead of washing.

The Tree-Pipit generally arrives in the southern portions of
England early in April ; and, except in the west of Cornwall and in
Wrales, where it is scarce, the bird is fairly distributed throughout the
country in summer, becoming more numerous in the wooded dis-
tricts suitable to its habits. In Scotland it is common in the W estern
Solway district (Service), and around Glasgow ; and, although local,
it appears to be fairly diffused in other parts of the country ; but in
the north it is rarer, and it has only been detected breeding in
Sutherlandshire since 1875. It is said to be a straggler in the
Orkneys. In Ireland it has not yet been obtained. The majority
depart for the south during the month of September, but in the

124

TREE-PIPIT.

west Mr. Cecil Smith observed a flock of about a score preparing
to migrate from the cliffs near Exmouth on the 26th of October.

A specimen of the Tree-Pipit is said to have been brought by the
Austrian Expedition from Jan Mayen ! On the Continent it breeds
as far north as rromso in Norway, and southward, to the Pyrenees,
the higher grounds of Northern Italy, and the Crimea. South of this
it is principally known as a migrant in spring and autumn, or as a
resident in winter ; as it is also in the northern portion of Africa,
from Morocco, on the west, to Egypt, Nubia and Abyssinia on the
east ; while it has been recorded from about 250 S. lat. It occurs
in Siberia in summer as far east as Krasnoiarsk in the valley of the
Yenesei, where it meets with A. maculatus , a closely-allied form, of a
more olive-green colour with but few dusky streaks on the upper
parts ; and in winter it is found as far to the south-east as Assam.

1 he nest, placed on the ground among herbage, is constructed of
moss, dry grass and roots, lined with fine bents and a little hair.
The eggs, 4-6. are subject to much variation ; some being greyish-
white, mottled with deep brown ; others are rich reddish-brown ;
some are almost lilac-pink ; and again a not uncommon variety
resembles the egg of the Reed-Bunting: average measurements ’82
by -6 in. Two broods are sometimes reared in the season. The
food consists principally of insects, with small seeds. The song of
the male — somewhat like that of the Canary — is generally begun on
the topmost branch of a tree, after which the bird hovers in the
air and descends, still singing, to his perch.

Adult male : eye-stripe buff ; upper parts clear sandy-brown with
distinct dark brown streaks ; wing-coverts and secondaries dark brown
with paler edges ; primaries dull brown ; the outer pair of tail-feathers
white, with a dark brown stripe on part of the inner webs ; the second
pair merely tipped with white, but otherwise, like the remaining
feathers, dark brown ; chin dull white; throat buff, with a dark line
on each side from the bill to the gorget; sides of the neck, breast
and flanks buff, with elongated spots and streaks of dark brown ;
belly dull white ; bill brown above, lighter below ; legs and feet pale
flesh-colour in life, but yellowish-brown in preserved specimens.
Length 6 in. ; wing 3 ’4 in. The female is slightly smaller, and less
distinctly spotted on the breast. In autumn the buff tint is more
pronounced ; and in young birds the spots and streaks are smaller
in size, but more numerous. The Tree-Pipit may always be distin-
guished from the Meadow-Pipit by its somewhat larger size, tint of a
warmer buff, paler legs, and much shorter and more curved hind claw.

MOTACILLIDVE.

125

THE MEADOW-PIPIT.

Anthus pratensis (Linnaeus).

The Meadow-Pipit, generally known as the Titlark, and locally
by the names of Titling, Moss-cheeper, Ling-bird &c., is the smallest
and most abundant member of the genus throughout the British
Islands. During summer it is equally at home on lowland pas-
tures and elevated moors ; but in winter the higher and bleaker
situations are deserted for milder and more sheltered localities,
especially those in the vicinity of the sea-coast. In autumn con-
siderable numbers leave our shores altogether ; a return migration
taking place in spring.

In the Freroes and Iceland the Meadow-Pipit is common in
summer, and in Greenland a single straggler was obtained in 1845.
Its breeding-range extends from the North Cape over the greater part
of Europe to the Pyrenees, the northern portions of Italy and the
Carpathians, and perhaps to some of the elevated regions still fur-
ther south ; but in the basin of the Mediterranean the bird is princi-
pally known as a visitor on migration and in winter. Eastward, it is
found in Asia Minor, Palestine, Western Turkestan, and the valley
of the Ob in Siberia ; while its southern wanderings reach North
Africa, from Morocco to Egypt. In the Canary Islands and Madeira
there is a resident insular form known as A. bertheloti, smaller in
size, with paler and less marked upper parts, narrowly striated
under parts, and no green tint in its plumage.

The resident Meadow-Pipits begin to breed early in the spring,
but the migratory individuals which arrive from the south in April

126

MEADOW-PIPIT.

are somewhat later. 1 he nest, placed in a depression of the level
ground or the side of a bank among sheltering herbage, often in ling,
is constructed of dry grass with a lining of finer materials ; the eggs,
usually 4-6 in number, being greyish-white— sometimes with a green
tint — thickly mottled with different shades of brown, and, occasion-
ally, with a few hair-streaks at the larger end : average measurements
•78 by -57 in. Two broods are generally reared in the season. In
many districts, especially of moorland where other small species of
birds are comparatively scarce, the Cuckoo commonly deposits
its egg in the nest of the Meadow-Pipit. The song, feeble but
rather shrill, is generally uttered on the wing, but sometimes from a
stone or low bush. The food consists of insects, worms, small
snails and molluscs, with seeds in winter ; and in search of these
the bird may be seen working its way among grass or heather
with a slow creeping movement, varied by an occasional quick run.
Its flight is jerky and wavering. The scent emitted by the Titlark
is very strong, and dogs ‘ point ’ it more frequently than they do any
other ground-bird.

Adult male : eye-stripe narrow and dull white ; upper parts olive-
brown, with dark stripes down the centre of the feathers ; quills
dark brown, with a greenish-yellow tint on the margins of the outer
webs ; wing-coverts and secondaries — the latter shorter than the
primaries — brown, edged with dull white ; tail dark brown, except
the outer pair of feathers which are white on the lower part, while
the second pair have a white spot near the tip ; under parts dull
white, streaked with brownish-black on the throat, gorget and flanks;
bill dark brown above and at the tip, the rest paler ; legs and feet
pale brown ; hind claw longer than the hind toe, and only slightly
curved. Length 575 in. ; wing 3 in. The female is less richly
spotted below. After the autumn moult, the upper and the under
parts are suffused with a yellowish-buff tint ; and in spring this hue
is very noticeable on the throats of fresh arrivals from the Continent.

The young are even more buff-coloured, but the streaks on the
under parts are smaller and browner than in the adults.

MOTACILLID/E.

127

THE RED-THROATED PIPIT.

Anthus cervInus (Pallas).

On March 13th 1884 a Red-throated Pipit was brought by a bird-
catcher to Mr. Swaysland, the well-known bird-stuffer at Brighton,
and was examined in the flesh on the following day by Mr. J. H.
Gurney jun., who recorded the occurrence in ‘ The Zoologist ’ for
that year (p. 192). In the same volume (p. 272) Mr. Walter
Prentis stated that, in April 1880, he shot an example of this
species at Rainham in Kent, whilst it was feeding and singing along
the freshly-turned furrows behind his plough, and sent it, as merely
a bright-coloured Meadow-Pipit, to Dover for preservation. Both
these examples were forwarded to Mr. R, B. Sharpe, who exhibited
the former — now in the possession of Mr. T. J. Monk of Lewes —
at a meeting of the Zoological Society, April 1st 1884. Up to that
year no thoroughly authenticated British-killed example was known,
although Mr. Bond possessed a genuine specimen of the bird,
labelled “Unst, May 4th 1854”, purchased at the sale of the late
Mr. Troughton’s collection, and proceeding, as shown by Mr.
Gurney jun., from a previous sale which had obtained a notoriety
of a certain kind. Yet, as was prophetically remarked by Professor
Newton, the migratory habits and wide range of this species made
it very likely to occur, and probably rendered its recognition in these
islands only a matter of time and observation. It has not been con-
sidered necessary to figure it here, because the coloration and other
characteristics could not be rendered in a woodcut.

The Red-throated Pipit is a species which, throughout the year,
enjoys the maximum of sunshine; and under the continuous daylight
which reigns in summer to the north of the Arctic circle, it breeds in
many parts of Scandinavia, especially in East Finmark ; while east-
ward, we find it in increasing numbers, beyond the limit of forest-
growth, across Siberia to Kamschatka and Bering Island. It is even
said to have straggled across the Pacific to Lower California ; but
be this as it may, the migrations of this Pipit undoubtedly extend to
Southern China, Borneo, Burma, India, Persia and Egypt. In the
latter and in Nubia, the bird is exceedingly abundant in winter, and

128

RED-THROATED PIPIT.

up to the month of April ; by which time it has assumed full breed-
ing-plumage. Westward, in North Africa it becomes rarer, but it is
found on migration throughout the basin of the Mediterranean, from
Asia Minor to Gibraltar ; and it passes through the greater part of
Europe on the way to and from its northern breeding-grounds,
although it is scarce to the west of Heligoland.

The Red-throated Pipit makes its nest in the sides of the tussocky
ridges of the bogs or tundras of the north ; dry grass being the
material employed, with a finer lining of the same. The eggs, 4-6
in number, vary from a nearly uniform rich mahogany colour to a
greenish-grey with dark brown mottlings : average measurements
"75 by ’58 in. In late springs breeding does not commence before
the last week in June, so that only one brood can be reared in the
season. Its note is louder and more full than that of the Meadow-
Pipit. The food consists principally of insects and their larvae,
small worms, molluscs and grass seeds. In its winter quarters the
Red-throated Pipit is gregarious ; and frequents planted fields where
there is cover.

The adult male, in breeding-plumage, is distinctly more rufous-
brown on the upper parts than the Meadow-Pipit, and the black
streaks are more pronounced ; the eye-stripe is broad and of a
rufous-buff; the tail as in the Meadow-Pipit; the inner secondaries
nearly equal to the primaries and longer than in the above species ;
the chin, throat, sides of the neck and breast vinous-chestnut ; the
gorget with fewer and smaller spots than in the Meadow-Pipit, but
the flanks with larger ones ; abdomen buff ; bill dark above, yellowish
below ; legs and feet light brown. Length 5 ’8 in. ; wing 3 '5 in.
In the female the vinous-chestnut only extends to the throat, and
her breast and flanks are more streaked with black ; she is also
smaller in size. In winter the red throat is only found in very old
birds, and at that season the feathers of the mantle are margined
with white ; the general tint being greyish-brown, without the olive-
green of the Meadow-Pipit. Birds of the year are very buff-coloured
on both upper and lower parts ; while even in December there is a
little rufous round the eye and on the cheeks, and that tint is slightly
apparent on the throat.

MOTACII.UD/E.

I 29

THE TAWNY PIPIT.

Anthus campj£stris (Linneeus).

The Tawny Pipit was first noticed as a straggler to our islands by
the late Mr. G. Dawson Rowley, who recognized two examples shot
in autumn near Brighton ; one of which had previously been taken
for a Richard’s Pipit (Ibis 1863, p. 37). Since that time, up to
1886, thirteen or fourteen have been obtained, at the same season of
various years, in that vicinity ; one at Trescoe, Scilly Islands, in Sep-
tember 1868 ; and one at Bridlington, Yorkshire, on November 20th
1869 • while other occurrences may have been overlooked.

It is somewhat remarkable that the Tawny Pipit should not have
been noticed on our shores in spring, for it is an annual visitor, for
the purpose of breeding, to the sandy dunes of the north of France
and Holland, and to suitable dry wastes inland. Rare in Denmark,
it passes over Heligoland on migration, and is not uncommon in
the south of Sweden ; while on the islands and the south-eastern
side of the Baltic as far as Riga it is generally distributed in summer.
Southward it occurs, either breeding or on passage, in most of
the stony and arid districts of Europe, down to the Mediterranean ;
north of which it is not found in winter. In Northern Africa it is
probably a resident species ; whilst its migrations are known to
extend to Damaraland on the west side, and to the Lake districts on

i3o

TAWNY PIPIT.

the east. From Palestine and Asia Minor we trace it to Turkestan
and the plains of North-western India; while from Central Asia to
Eastern Siberia it is represented by a smaller race of doubtful
specific distinctness. It is essentially a desert-loving species, and
will seldom be found, even when migrating, on fertile or well-
watered soil ; but on sterile plains sprinkled with a little coarse
herbage it is usually abundant, up to an elevation of about 3,000
or 4,000 feet in Europe. It crosses the Mediterranean from the
end of March onwards, reaching the shores of the Baltic late in April ;
while the return migration takes place in August and September.

The nest is placed at the foot of a shrub or bush — on the lee-side
where there is a prevalent wind — and sometimes among growing
barley ; the materials being roots and dry grass, with a lining of
horsehair. The eggs, 5-6 in number, are of a greyish-white, blotched
and streaked with darker grey and purplish-brown ; resembling, as
already observed (p. 68), those of the Rufous Warbler ; average
measurements ’85 by ‘62 in. The food consists of small insects, but
seldom or never of seeds. This species does not collect in large
flocks, like other Pipits ; but it is said to be fond of bathing. The
call-note is a short whit) and the song, usually uttered during a
brief fluttering flight, is poor and monotonous.

The adult male in spring is sandy-brown tinged with grey on the
upper parts, with dull darker centres to the feathers, more marked on
the crown, but almost obsolete on the rump ; over the eye a buffish-
white streak ; ear-coverts ash-brown ; wing-coverts dark brown with
buff edges ; quills and secondaries umber brown, with tawny margins;
the outer pair of tail-feathers dull white, with a large portion of the
margin of the inner web brown ; in the second pair the brown
extends nearly to the shaft which is also brown, as are the remain-
ing tail-feathers; from the base of the bill a faint dusky stripe ; chin
and throat tawny-white ; breast warmer buff slightly striated with
brown ; lower parts paler ; bill brown above, yellowish below ; legs
and feet yellowish-brown. Length 6'5 in. ; wing 3 '6 in. The female
is slightly smaller than the male, and is said to be often without the
streaks on the breast, but the least spotted bird in the series before
me is a male. From the autumn moult to the early part of the
following spring the tints are much more tawny, and, in young
birds, are very pronounced on the margins of the wing and tail-
feathers, while the brown markings of the upper parts and of the
breast are much more intense.

MOTACILLIDAC.

131

RICHARD’S PIPIT.

Anthus richArdi, Vieillot.

This large Pipit, distinguishable by its length of limb and ex-
tremely long hind claw, is an Eastern species which visits Western
Europe irregularly on migration, generally in autumn ; and at least
sixty occurrences are on record in Great Britain — but none in
Ireland — since 1824, when Vigors announced it as a visitor to our
shores. The majority of these have been in the southern districts
of England, especially on the Sussex coast ; but six examples have
been obtained near Yarmouth in Norfolk, three in Northumberland,
one in Shropshire, one — in summer — near Fleetwood in Lancashire,
two in Cumberland, and recently, two in Warwickshire. In Scot-
land the only authenticated example is one obtained by Mr. J. G.
Millais, near Dunkeld, on August 2nd 1880.

On the Continent, Richard’s Pipit has been met with, as a rare
straggler, in the southern districts of Norway and Sweden ; but on
Borkurn, Heligoland, and along the coasts of Holland, Belgium and
France, it is not uncommon on migration. In Central Europe it is
rare, though in the south of France, especially in Provence, it is not
unfrequent ; near Malaga and throughout the south of Spain it is
in some years tolerably common from November to April ; while it
occurs irregularly in Italy and in the basin of the Mediterranean,
occasionally visiting North Africa. Its usual breeding-grounds are
not to be 'found west of Turkestan; in the valley of the Yenesei

m 2

132

RICHARD’S PIPIT.

Mr. Seebohm found both old and young in August, up to 58° N.
lat. ; and it nests abundantly on the elevated steppes of Eastern
Turkestan, the Lake Baikal district and Mongolia. In winter it
visits South China, Burma and the Indian region.

The nest is built, during the early part of June, in some depression
in a meadow or grass -field ; and the eggs, which, judging from the
clutches obtained by Dybowski, are generally 5 in number, are
greyish-white blotched with various shades of brown : average
measurements *86 by ‘68 in. In Datiria the Cuckoo frequently
deposits her egg in the nest of this Pipit. Two broods are some-
times reared in the season ; and in September the southward
migration commences. In winter it is described by Mr. Brooks as
frequenting paddy-grounds and vetch-fields in Bengal, where it is
very wary, keeping a sharp look-out, with head erect and outstretched
neck ; but Col. Legge found it very tame in the wet pastures of
Ceylon. Its usual call-note is loud and calculated to attract atten-
tion, while it has also a soft double chirp like that of a Bunting.
The ordinary flight is very undulating and strong. Col. Legge says
this bird feeds on worms and grasshoppers, and often seizes a pass-
ing butterfly or insect on the wing. The name was conferred in
honour of M. Richard, of Luneville in Lorraine.

The male in breeding-plumage has the feathers of the upper
parts sandy-brown with dark centres, producing a mottled Lark-like
appearance ; rump nearly uniform brown, tail-coverts striated; wing-
coverts tipped with reddish-buff ; secondaries broadly — and primaries
faintly — margined with buffish-white ; outer pair of tail-feathers
nearly white, with only a narrow dusky margin to the inner web ; in
the second pair the dusky margin extends nearly to the tip, and
the shaft also is brown ; remaining tail-feathers very dark brown,
with pale and often huffish margins to the central pair ; chin white ;
a dotted line of brown spots from the base of the bill down each
side of the neck to the gorget, which is still more spotted on a buff
ground-colour extending down the flanks ; abdomen dull white ;
bill dark brown above, yellowish below; legs and feet yellowish-
brown ; hind claw generally longer than the toe. Length 7 ’25 in. ;
wing 375 in. The female is smaller, but alike in plumage. In
autumn a more rufous tint pervades the upper and, still more, the
under parts. In the young the pale margins to the upper feathers
and the streaks on the under parts are more pronounced. A
specimen in my collection, obtained at Malaga on March 15th, and
which I take to be a bird of the previous year, is renewing its tail-
feathers.

MOTACILLIDiE.

133

THE WATER-PIPIT.

Anthus SPiPOLihxA (Linnaeus).

The true Water-Pipit is a very rare straggler to England, but its
occurrences have been estimated as more frequent than was really
the case, owing to a confusion with the Scandinavian form of the
Rock-Pipit, which occasionally visits us. The first authenticated
examples of the Water-Pipit were recorded by Mr. Pratt of Brighton,
in 1864, when one killed near that town, and another taken near
Worthing, were sent to Gould for identification. On October 26th
1868, a third was shot at Shoreham, and in March 1877, one — in
the collection of Mr. F. Nicholson — was obtained at Lancing.
Sussex is therefore the only county in which this species has yet
been recognized. It may always be distinguished from the Rock-
Pipit by the distinctly white colour of the outer part of the exterior
pair of tail-feathers, and the white tips to the second pair ; and,
although in young birds this white is not so pure as has been
asserted, it is sufficiently so to distinguish the species from even the
Scandinavian form of the Rock-Pipit, which, in its turn, is brighter
than our resident bird.

During the breeding-season the Water-Pipit is to be found on

134

WATER- PI PIT.

the Alps and the mountain ranges of Central Europe, the Pyrenees,
and some of the higher regions in the Spanish Peninsula, even in
the extreme south. On migration it occurs in Heligoland, Holland,
Belgium, trance, and Europe generally, down to the Mediterranean
and Black Seas. In Russia it breeds in the Ural Mountains up to
64° N. lat., and in the Caucasus ; as it does in the high ranges of
Asia Minor, Persia, Beluchistan, Turkestan, and in the Altai. In
winter it visits the North of Africa, Egypt, Palestine, and the lower
districts of Asia to Western India ; being replaced to the eastward
by a smaller form, A. blakisloni, which inhabits Eastern Siberia,
Mongolia and China. In Japan the representative is a subspecies,
A. japoniais, doubtfully distinct from A. Pennsylvania/ s — also known
as A. ludovicianus — which is found throughout North America and
in Greenland ; the latter has also been identified in Heligoland,
and is said, but on insufficient evidence, to have occurred in Great
Britain.

The Water-Pipit returns to its breeding-quarters as soon as the
elevated regions are sufficiently free from snow ; and early in May I
observed large numbers in the Val de Lys above Luchon. The nest,
loosely composed of dry grass, bents and stems, lined with a few hairs
and feathers, is placed on the ground among stones, or under the
shelter of a low bush ; the eggs, usually 5 in number, are greyish-
white mottled with brownish-olive : average measurements ’8 by ‘6 in.
In some localities two broods are reared in the season. The song
of the male is an often-repeated lit, tit, tit, uttered in the air or from
the top of some tree. The food consists of insects, minute snails,
and small seeds.

The adult male in breeding-plumage has a white stripe over the
eye and the greyish-brown ear-coverts ; upper parts greyish-brown,
turning to brown on the rump ; wings dark brown with pale edges to
the coverts and secondaries ; the exterior pair of tail-feathers white
on the outer portion, the second and third pairs brown tipped with
white, the remaining feathers brown ; chin white ; throat and breast
warm vinaceous-buff ; belly paler, and flanks rather browner, with a
few dark streaks ; bill, legs and feet brown. Length 6-25 in. ; wing
3-6 in. The sexes are alike in plumage. In autumn the vinous
tint is lost, and the sides of the neck and breast are spotted with
dark brown. The young bird is still more spotted, and the outer
webs of the exterior pair of tail-feathers are pale brown.

MOTACILLID.-K.

135

THE ROCK-PIPIT.

Anthus obscurus (Latham).

The Rock-Pipit is a resident species in the British Islands, where
it is essentially a shore-bird ; generally frequenting, during the breed-
ing-season, those portions of the sea-coast which are of a rocky
nature — conditions which are not found between the Thames and
Humber ; although during autumn and winter it is found on
salt-marshes and in the muddy estuaries where there is sea-weed.
Along the east coast a migration southwards has been noticed in
October. In Scotland it is abundant in suitable localities, espec-
ially in the west ; and it is equally common in Ireland.

The Rock-Pipit inhabits the Faeroes, but has not been obtained
in Iceland or Greenland. Along the western side of Scandinavia,
and in Denmark, is found a race which, in the breeding-season,
exhibits a vinous tint on the breast, approaching the hue of the
Water-Pipit; and birds belonging to this form have been distin-
guished as A. rupestris. Mr. Booth says that the latter used to
arrive in Sussex in considerable numbers from March to April,
though it never remained to breed, but of late years it seems to
have changed its line of migration ; it has also occurred on the
east coast of Great Britain ; Mr. Hancock says that he has an
example shot from the nest at Chepstow, Monmouthshire, on
April 18th 1854; and Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., has one which he
obtained near the Land’s End. A woodcut of this form is given

136

ROCK PIPIT.

below. Our dull-coloured race is found in the Channel Islands
and along the northern and western shores of France ; while it is
represented by the Scandinavian form to the eastward of our
islands and in the Baltic. There is as yet no evidence of the
occurrence of either in the Mediterranean.

The nest, generally in a clump of sea-pink, a grassy bank, or a
crevice of the rocks on the sea-shore, is made of dry grasses and sea-
tang ; the eggs, 4-5, are usually greenish-grey mottled with olive-
brown, but I have seen some reddish ones, like those of a Tree-
I ipit : measurements -8 by ’6 in. Two broods are produced in the
season. The food consists of marine insects, flies, small molluscs
and crustaceans, for which the bird may be seen searching among
the heaps of sea-weed on the shore at low water.

The adult is olive-brown with darker streaks above; the under
parts dull ochreous-olive streaked with brown on the breast ; much
like the \\ ater-Pipit in winter, but more olive, and the outer tail-
feathers with smoke-coloured outer webs, so that the under side of
the tail seems nearly uniform brown. The young are more striated.
Length 6‘25 in. ; wing 3'5 in.

Pycnonotid.*:. — An example of the South-African Bulbul or
‘Gold-vented Thrush,’ Pycnonotus capetisis, was shot near Waterford,
Ireland, in January 1838, and skinned by Dr. R. Birkett. Consider-
ing the natural habitat of the bird, and the time of year, it is only
reasonable to suppose that it had escaped from confinement.

ORIOLID/E.

137

THE GOLDEN ORIOLE.

Oriolus galbula, Linnaeus.

This bright-plumaged bird is an annual spring-migrant to Corn-
wall and the Scilly Islands, where as many as forty have been seen
in a single April, and it is an irregular but not unfrequent visitor to
the southern and eastern counties of England ; while nests have
been found — or the birds seen under circumstances which left little
doubt that they were breeding — in Norfolk, Essex, Northampton-
shire, Surrey, and especially in Kent. 1 he most recent instances
have been at Dumpton Park, Isle of Thanet, where a pair of birds,
protected by the proprietor, Mr. Bankes T omlin, reared a brood
(Harting, ‘ Our Summer Migrants,’ p. 268) in 1874, and again in
1875. As a rule, however, the bright plumage of this bird attracts
the attention of the destroying collector, and the species is thus
prevented from nesting with us annually, as it would otherwise do ;
for migrants generally return to the localities in which they were

GOLDEN ORIOLE.

138

hatched. In Scotland its occurrences have been few, and mostly in
the southern districts ; but one is recorded from Lerwick, Shetland,
in October 1882. In Ireland it has occurred in the southern and
eastern counties, and once in Donegal.

The Golden Oriole is a mere straggler to the south of Sweden,
and has only visited Heligoland once in the last thirty years ; but
it breeds regularly in Finland, and in Russia rather further north than
St. Petersburg. In Germany, Holland, France and Europe gener-
ally, it is a common species during the summer in suitable localities ;
except, perhaps, in the eastern half of the Mediterranean basin,
where, as well as in Asia Minor and Palestine, it is better known as
a migrant. Eastward it is found in Asia — north of the great moun-
tain ranges' as far as Irkutsk ; but in the Indian region it is repre-
sented by O. kundoo, in the adult male of which the black loral
streak extends behind the eye, and the outer tail-feathers are entirely
yellow. In North Africa the Golden Oriole breeds sparingly, and
winters regularly; its migrations extending to Damaraland, Natal and
Madagascar. As a straggler it has been found in Madeira and the
Azores; but Kjaerbolling’s assertion that one was picked up dead
in the north of Iceland in December 1843, is incredible.

The nest is placed in, and suspended from, the horizontal fork
of a small branch of some tree — frequently an oak or fir — in a
shady grove or thick wood, and is made of strips of pliable bark,
wool, slender grass stems &c., carefully woven together ; the eggs,
4—5» are glossy white, blotched with reddish-purple : average
measurements 1 "2 by ‘84 in. Although fond of shade, the Oriole
is not a shy bird, and I have seen its nests in the avenues of trees
in Utrecht. Its food consists of insects and their larvae, the young
birds being principally fed on caterpillars ; but fruits, especially
cherries, are also eaten. The French name ‘ Loriot ’ indicates the
flute-like call of the male ; the alarm-note being a harsh khrr.

Adult male : most of the plumage golden-yellow ; lores black ;
quills and wing-coverts black, tipped and margined with yellowish-
white ; tail-feathers yellow at the tips and black at the bases, except
the central pair which are mostly black ; bill dull red ; iris bright
red ; legs lead-grey. Length 9^5 in. ; wing 6 in. The mature
female certainly has a blackish loral streak, but the yellow is far less
intense than in the male, and the under parts are striated with
greyish ; in less mature birds the upper parts are only greenish-
yellow ; but I have tried in vain to obtain any proof of Blyth’s
theory that the mature female assumes the plumage of the adult
male. The young are browner and greener than the female.

LAN IIIVE.

1 39

THE GREAT GREY SHRIKE.

LAnius excubitor, Linnaeus.

The Great Grey Shrike is a regular, conspicuous, and fairly
abundant visitor from the Continent to the British Islands in autumn
and winter ; while in England it has occasionally been observed in
summer, although there is no evidence that it has ever bred there.
It is naturally more frequent on the eastern side than on the west,
but though records are wanting from the Hebrides, it has occurred in
the Orkneys and was seen by Saxby in the Shetlands. Io Ireland,
according to Mr. More, it is a rare and uncertain visitor in winter.

Many of the specimens obtained in winter have a white bar on
the primaries only, the bases of the secondaries being black ;
whereas in the typical L. excubitor the bases of the secondaries are
white, and the wing exhibits a double bar. The form with only one
bar is the L. major of Pallas, and, as shown by Prof. Collett (Ibis
1886, pp. 30—40) it meets and interbreeds with Z. excubitor in
Scandinavia, typical examples of both races being actually found in
the same brood, while intermediate forms are not uncommon.
Where the sexes have been determined, the double-barred bird has
generally proved to be a male, and the single-barred a female.
Typical Z. excubitor breeds as far east as St. Petersburg, beyond
which, in Siberia, L. major becomes the representative form. In
the valley of the Yenesei the latter meets, but does not interbreed
with, the whiter-winged Z. leucopterus 3 the last ranging through

140

great grey shrike,

_ -estan to Southern Russia, where, by its union with the typical
. excubitor, it seems to have produced an intermediate race,
known as Z. homeyeri. Space will not allow me to say more.

r . lSh"1[e of some kind was seen in Iceland in 1845 by

J n 1 ell the falconer; and, -as already shown, two forms occur and
interbreed in Northern Europe, up to the Arctic circle. Ip winter
they are forced to leave the high north, but even in Central Ger-
many the typical Z. excubitor often remains throughout the winter
and comparatively few of either form extend their migrations to the
shores of the Mediterranean, although in the Black Sea region
they are more numerous. The south-east of France and the
Spanish Peninsula are occupied by a distinct and resident species,
f: meridl0nahs> with vinous-coloured breast, while in Morocco and
Algeria we find Z. algeriensis ; these two species never crossing the
Mediterranean. The Great Grey Shrike with the double white bar,
breeds m considerable numbers in the north of France, Belgium,
Holland, Germany and Central Europe.

From the middle of May onwards the rather bulky nest of twigs
roots and moss, lined with wool, hair and feathers, is built at the
top of a fir, or high up in some other tree. The eggs, 5-7, are
greenish-white, spotted and zoned with olive-brown and violet-grey •
average measurements 11 by -8 in. The food consists largely of
lizards, mice, shrews, small or young birds, frogs and insects,
especially beetles and grasshoppers ; the indigestible portions being
thrown up in pellets. Like other members of the family, this species
impales its prey on long sharp thorns; whence the name of
Butcher-bird ’ ; while its fondness for sitting, like a sentinel, on a
lofty and conspicuous perch has earned for it the name of excubitor.
The alarm-note is a sharp shake , shake ; the call-note truii.

Adult male : forehead and a line over each eye white ; lores,
cheeks and ear-coverts black; upper parts pearl-grey, turning to white
on the scapulars ; wing-feathers black with white bases to the prim-
aries, and in the typical Z. excubitor , also to the secondaries, which,
with the inner primaries, are tipped with white; outer tail-feathers
white ; in the others the black at their bases increases until the
central ones are entirely black ; under parts white ; bill, legs and
feet blackish. Length 9-5 ; wing 4-5 in. Female : duller, and the
breast faintly marked with greyish semilunar bars. Young : dull
greyish-brown above, and more barred on the under parts.

LAN1ID/E.

141

THE LESSER GREY SHRIKE.

Lanius minor, J. F. Gmelin.

The Lesser Grey Shrike is an annual summer-visitor to the
southern and central portions of Europe, and, on migration, it
occasionally wanders to England. Early in November 1851, a
female was killed in the Scilly Islands ; in the spring of 1869 the
Rev. Murray A. Mathew received one from Great Yarmouth, where
another was taken in May 1875 1 an<^ on September 23rd 1876, a
bird of the year, identified by the late Mr. Gatcombe, was taken
alive near Plymouth.

It is doubtful if the Lesser Grey Shrike has occurred in the south
of Sweden or in Denmark ; while it is distinctly rare on passage
in Heligoland, as well as in Holland, Belgium and the north of
France. Eastward, it is not uncommon along the southern shores
of the Baltic, and it has even wandered to Finland ; while in the
south it is generally distributed over Europe as far west as the
valley of the Rhone and Provence. It may perhaps visit Catalonia
on the east side of Spain, but it is unknown in the south and
west. It is common in Italy, Sicily, Dalmatia, Greece, Turkey, Asia

142

l.ESSER GREY SHRIKE.

Minor and Palestine, where it frequents the outskirts of cultiva-
tion on the lower ground ; but does not ascend to the elevated
regions. In all the above countries it is only known in summer or
on migration ; and its winter quarters appear to be in Africa, where
it goes as far south as Damaraland on the west, and the Orange
I'ree State on the east. In Asia it is found from Persia to Omsk in
57° N. lat, and eastward, to Lake Zaisan in long. 84° It arrives
in Germany between April 24th and May 7th ; remaining till
between August 18th and September 10th (Rey); but in South-
eastern Europe it stays until October.

The nest, commenced about the middle ot May, is generally
placed at least ten feet from the ground, in an oak, wild pear or
crab, and, in Greece, frequently in an olive-tree. It is composed
of twigs, dry roots, aromatic field-flowers and green grasses, with a
lining of wool, hair and feathers ; the eggs, 5-7 in number, are pale
bluish-green, blotched with olive-brown and ash-colour : average
measurements '98 by '77 in. Incubation, shared by both sexes,
lasts fifteen days, and during the breeding-season the birds are very
quarrelsome, driving even Crows and Magpies from the vicinity of
their nest. Like most Shrikes, this species is fond of perching on
the topmost branch of a tree or other elevated position, whence it
darts with rapidity upon its prey, sometimes gliding with extended
and unmoved wings for a short distance. Its food consists of beetles
and other insects, seldom impaled on thorns, but devoured while
held in the bird’s foot : in the season, however, cherries, figs and
other fruits are eaten. The note is described by Naumann as a
harsh kjcick, kjiick, but the song of other birds is often imitated.

Adult male : forehead, eye and ear-coverts black ; cheeks white ;
nape and back grey, rather paler on the rump ; wings black, slightly
tipped with white on the secondaries, and with white bases to the
primaries, forming a broad single bar ; central tail-feathers black ; in
the others the bases and tips are white, which gradually encroaches
upon the black until the outside pair are entirely white ; under
parts white, suffused with a rosy blush on the breast and flanks ;
bill, legs and feet blackish. Length 8'5 in. ; wing 4-6 in. The
female and immature male have less black on the forehead. The
young bird — the upper figure in the woodcut — has no black on the
forehead, and the under parts are dull yellowish-white, mottled with
grey transverse lines. This species may be distinguished from all
other Grey Shrikes by its wing formula; the 1st or bastard primary
being very short, while the 2nd nearly equals the 3rd and longest
primary.

I.ANIIDjE.

143

THE RED-BACKED SHRIKE.

Lanius collYrio, Linnseus.

This Shrike, by far the commonest of our British species, arrives
in the south of England very early in May, being, as a rule, gene-
rally distributed during the summer throughout the wooded dis-
tricts of the southern and central counties, and in Wales. In
Norfolk, however, it appears to be decreasing ; in Lincolnshire it
is almost unknown ; while in Yorkshire, and northward, it is of
irregular occurrence, and is said to be rarer than in former years.
In the south-east of Scotland it has occasionally been known to
breed, but it is very rare in the south-west, and an exceptional
visitor to the north. In the Shetlands, however, Saxby says that
he shot a young male on October 5th 1866, and that on Jime 9th
1870, he saw a female Red-backed Shrike followed by three young
birds already tolerably strong on the wing : a remarkable experience,
seeing that even in the south of England eggs are hardly laid by the
middle of May, and require a fortnight’s incubation ! In Ireland
the only example on record was shot on August 10th 1878, near
Belfast.

144

RED-BACKED SHRIKE

In summer the Red-bucked Shrike is found in Scandinavia and
Northern Europe as high as about 64° N. lat., and southward,
throughout the greater part of the Continent ; but in the south-west
it appears to be rare, for Mr. Tait only once obtained it— with its
nest— in the north of Portugal ; while one, shot by Mr. Abel Chap-
man on April 10th, is the only specimen recorded from Southern
Spain. Comparatively few, in fact, remain to breed in the basin of
the Mediterranean, although the bird is common in some parts on
passage ; but eastward it is found nesting on the high grounds of
Hermon and Lebanon, and through Asia Minor, Northern Persia,
and Turkestan, to the Altai Mountains. In winter its migrations
extend along both sides of Africa to Natal and Cape Colony, and
it has even been said to breed in the southern districts.

The nest, large for the size of the bird, is usually placed about
five or six feet from the ground, in a thick thorn-bush or strong
hedge, and is made of stalks of plants, moss and roots, with a lining
of bents, wool and hair. The eggs, 4-6, vary considerably, some
having the ground-colour of a greenish-white, others of a yellowish-
clay, and some of a salmon tint spotted and zoned with brown, olive,
or lilac, and blotched with two shades of light red and violet-grey :
average measurements * 88 by -65 in. Only one brood is reared
in the season; the majority taking their departure in August in
family parties, and before their moult ; although the capture of a
young bird is recorded on November nth 1869, when in pursuit of
a Wren. This Shrike feeds on mice, lizards, beetles, humble-bees,
wasps and other insects ; there is evidence that it will attack and
kill almost any bird up to its own size ; and like its congeners, it
impales its prey on thorns. The alarm-note is a harsh chack, but the
male has a rather sweet song, and is also a good mimic.

The adult male has the frontal band, lores and ear-coverts black ;
crown and nape grey ; mantle chestnut-brown ; wing-feathers dark
brown edged with rufous ; tail-coverts grey ; tail-feathers — except
the central pair which are mostly black — white at their bases and
black on the distal portion, the whole with black shafts and narrow
white tips ; chin white ; under parts rose-buff ; bill, legs and feet
black. Length 7 in. ; wing 37 in. The female ordinarily has the
upper parts and tail russet-brown with faint crescentic bars on the
mantle, and the under parts buffish-white with greyish-brown semilunar
bars ; but instances are on record of the assumption of a plumage
similar to that of the male. The young bird is whiter on the fore-
head, duller and less rufous-brown on the upper parts, more barred
both above and below, and the legs are iron-grey.

LANIID.E.

1 45

THE WOO DC HAT.

Lanius pomeranus, Sparrman.

Although a common species during the breeding-season on the
opposite shores of the Continent, the Woodchat Shrike only crosses
the narrow seas at irregular intervals, and not more than thirty
examples are known to have been obtained in England during
the last hundred years. The majority of these have been noticed
in the southern and eastern districts, and generally at the time of
migration ; but there is evidence that the bird has nested twice
near Freshwater in the Isle of Wight, and westward, it has been
known to occur as far as Cornwall. Northward, it has been identi-
fied on rare occasions up to Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumberland
and Northumberland ; but there is no proof that it has visited
Scotland or Ireland.

On the Continent the WToodchat breeds as far to the north-east
as the line of the Baltic and the valley of the Vistula, beyond
which it is of accidental occurrence ; while southward it is generally
distributed throughout Europe, and in the countries bordering on
the Mediterranean is very abundant. Even there, however, it is

146

WOODCHAT.

only a visitor ; arriving about the end of March, or early in April,
and leaving again between August and October. Eastward, it
breeds in South Russia, Turkey, Asia Minor, Palestine and Persia ;
while in winter it occurs in Arabia, and down the East African coast
to about 50 N. lat., also on the west side to the Gambia and the
Gold Coast. Throughout Northern Africa it is abundant in summer,
arriving from the southern side of the Sahara in March.

The nest, composed of a variety of materials and frequently
adorned with the flowers of aromatic plants, is placed in the fork of
a branch of almost any kind of tree, without the slightest attempt
at concealment. The eggs, usually 5 in number, are, as a rule,
rather larger than those of the Red-backed Shrike, but similar in
colour ; the exception being the red variety, which, although not
unknown, is very rare : average measurements ’92 by -68 in. In
its habits and its food this species resembles other Shrikes, though
insects of various kinds, especially grasshoppers and beetles, appear
to form a larger proportion of its diet ; it is also very fond of
bathing. The note usually heard is a harsh krah kack krah ; but the
male has also a low and rather pretty song in spring, and shows
great capacity for imitating the notes of other birds.

The adult male, represented in the lower figure, has an elongated
white spot above each nostril ; forehead, lores, ear-coverts, sides of
neck and back black ; crown and nape chestnut-red ; scapulars
conspicuously white ; wing-feathers blackish, with white bases to the
primaries, forming a single bar ; coverts and secondaries tipped
with buffish -white ; lower back grey ; tail-coverts nearly white above,
turning to grey below ; tail-feathers chiefly black with white tips and
with white outer webs and bases to the exterior pair; under parts
buffish-white, darker on the flanks. Length 7-1 in.; wing 3^9 in.
The female has all the colours less bright and the upper parts
tinged with rufous and buff. The young bird, represented in the
upper figure, is russet, streaked and mottled with darker brown and
dull white on the upper parts, and with wide rufous margins to the
quills ; under parts much barred with brownish ; bill yellowish-horn.

ViREONiD/E. — Mr. Edwin Brown (Mosley’s Nat. Hist, of Tutbury,
pp. 94 and 385, pi. 6) has described and figured a male of the
American Red-eyed ‘Flycatcher,’ Vitro olivaceus , which a Derby
bird-catcher known as ‘ Hatter Dick ’ asserted that he had captured,
with a female not preserved, at Chellaston in May 1859. Several
species have been admitted to the British list on no better evidence !

AMPEUD/E.

147

THE WAX WING.

Ampelis garrulus, Linnaeus.

For upwards of two centuries this beautiful bird has been known
to visit our islands at irregular intervals, and sometimes, as in the
winters of 1686, 1830-31, 1834-35,1849-50, 1866-67, and 1872-3,
in considerable numbers. As might be expected in the case of an
inhabitant of the Arctic regions, the visits of the Waxwing have been
more frequent in the northern and eastern portions of Great Britain
than on the western side, and do not appear to have extended to
the Outer Hebrides ; while to Ireland they have been few and far
between. In England it has been obtained in almost every county,
including the south and the extreme south-west ; and on the spring
migration, in Norfolk up to the first week in May. Its visits depend
on the severity of the weather on the Continent, but it does not
follow that the same winter should be rigorous in the British Islands
The wanderings of the Waxwing are not known to extend in a
south-westerly direction as far as the Pyrenees or the Spanish
Peninsula; but from Provence, in the south-east of France, we can
trace them across the northern districts of Italy to Turkey. In

N 2

148

WAXWING.

summer the bird inhabits the Arctic regions, within the limits of
tree-growth, in Europe and Asia ; but it is very erratic, nesting for
some seasons in large numbers in certain districts and then suddenly
abandoning them. Its breeding-range extends across Bering Strait
to Alaska and the Rocky Mountains, while in winter the United
States exceptionally as far south as 35° N. lat. — are visited. The
representative species in temperate North America is the Cedar-
bird, A. cedrorum, which is rather smaller, without any white or
yellow on the wings, and is erroneously stated to have visited Great
Britain. Our Waxwing occurs in winter in Japan and Northern
China, but there the resident species is A. phccnicoptera , which has
red markings on the wings and tail, but no wax-like tips.

The account of the discovery of the breeding of the Waxwing,
with which the name of Wolley will always be associated, has been
given by his friend and sometime companion Professor Newton, in
‘ The Ibis’ for 1861 (pp. 92-106), and in the 4th Edition of ‘ Yar-
rell’s British Birds.’ My limits will only allow me to say that the
first nests and eggs were found in 1856 in Russian Lapland, since
which a great many have been taken ; and the breeding-range is
now known to extend westward to the north-eastern portion of Nor-
way, and southward to about 65° N. lat., on the shores of the Gulf
of Bothnia. Open portions of the forest appear to be preferred ;
the rather large nest being placed on a branch of a spruce, Scotch
fir, or birch, and mainly composed of the lichen known as tree-hair,
on a platform of dead twigs. The eggs, 5-7, are pale purplish-grey,
blotched and streaked with several shades of brown and lilac :
average measurements ‘97 by '68 in. In summer the food of the
Waxwing consists of crane-flies and other insects, but later on hips,
juniper and other berries are eaten voraciously. The only note of
this almost silent bird is a low cir-ir-ir-ir-re (Seebohm).

Adult male : frontal band, lores, eye-region and chin black ; fore-
head and sides of the crest chestnut-brown ; general plumage light
greyish-brown, shading into ash-grey on the rump and abdomen ;
wing-coverts black, tipped with white; secondaries spotted with
white at the end of the outer web, and with tips like red sealing-
wax ; primaries black, with V-shaped white and yellow borders ;
tail blackish, terminated by a broad yellow band, and, in mature
birds, with small red wax-like tips ; under tail-coverts chestnut ; bill,
legs and feet black. Length 7-5 in.; wing 4-5 in. Female: rather
duller, with fewer wax-like tips and generally without the white edges
to the inner webs of the primaries. Young : browner and without
the black throat.

MUSCICAPI0.E.

149

THE SPOTTED FLYCATCHER.

Muscicapa gri'sola, Linnseus.

The Spotted Flycatcher is often said to be one of the latest
spring-visitors to our islands ; nevertheless it has been observed
exceptionally in our eastern counties as early as April 23rd, and at
Carlisle one day earlier, while the usual date of its appearance
in the south is about the first week in May ; and even in this
remarkably cold backward spring of 1888, I watched an evidently
new arrival feeding in Kensington Gardens on the istof that month.
During the summer it is generally distributed throughout Great
Britain, becoming rarer towards the north ; although even there it
has been found nesting in Sutherland and Caithness, and to as far
westward as Skye. At present it appears to be merely a wanderer to
the Orkneys and Shetlands. Mr. More states that it is a regular
summer-visitor to Ireland, but on the west side it does not arrive
before the latter half of May.

The Spotted Flycatcher breeds as far north as 1 romso in Norway
and Archangel in Russia ; w'hile southward it is tolerably abundant
throughout Europe, nesting down to the northern shores of the
Mediterranean ; also on the African side, and in Asia Minor, Pales-
tine, Persia, Turkestan, and Siberia as far as Irkutsk. In winter it
visits India, Arabia, and Africa to the Cape of Good Hope. It
leaves' our islands and the northern portion of Europe in Sep-
tember, but in the south the abundance of insect food enables it to

*5°

SPOTTED FLYCATCHER.

remain later; and in Asia Minor it has even been obtained late in
November.

The nest is frequently placed among creepers, or in a hole in a wall
or a tree; occasionally behind loose bark; often on a beam in an out-
building, whence the name of ‘ Beam-bird’ ; and sometimes in such
odd situations as the top of a door-hinge, the inside of a lamp or of
a stove, &c. The structure, which is rather neat and well assimilated
to its surroundings, is generally of moss and lichens, warmly lined
with wool, hair and feathers. 1 he eggs, 4—6 in number, vary from
bluish-white to pale green in ground-colour, which is spotted and
clouded with rusty-brown : average measurements 75 by -55 in.
Incubation is said to devolve entirely upon the female, who is fed by
the male ; and two broods are not unfrequently produced in the
season, the first being hatched by the middle of June. The Spotted
Flycatcher is one of the few species which still nest in some of our
London parks and gardens. Its food consists principally of insects,
and the bird may often be seen sitting on a fence or branch, whence
it darts upon some fly or gnat, returning with a graceful sweep to
the spot it has just quitted. It can even manage a tolerably large
moth, such as the yellow underwing ; and in the autumn, it has been
known to feed on berries, especially those of the mountain-ash, to
which so many species of birds are partial. The song is very faint
and low, and the call-note is a zt-chick.

The adult has the crown light brown, with dark streaks down the
centre of the feathers ; upper parts hair-brown, slightly darker on
the wings and tail, and paler on the margins of the wing-coverts and
secondaries ; chin and under parts dull white, with brown streaks
on the throat, breast and flanks ; bill dark brown ; legs and feet
blackish. The sexes are alike in plumage. Length 5-6 in.; wing
3 '3 The young are very much spotted ; the feathers of the
upper parts have pale centres with broad dark margins, and the
wing- and tail-coverts are conspicuously tipped with buff, as are also
the secondaries.

MUSC1CAPID/E.

I5I

THE PIED FLYCATCHER.

Muscicapa atricapIlla, Linnaeus.

Although far less numerous than the preceding species, the Pied
Flycatcher is a regular visitor to Great Britain, arriving in the latter
part of April and returning southward in autumn. Large numbers
have sometimes been observed during the first week m May on the
Pentland Skerries, the Isle of May, and Flamborough and Spurn m
Yorkshire ; and a return migration has been noticed in August and
September; while in the latter month immense flights have passed
over Heligoland. During the breeding-season it is a very local
species, and although nests are said to have been found occasion-
ally in Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Hants, Surrey, Middlesex, Oxford,
Gloucester and some of the other southern counties, its favourite
haunts are rather in the north and west. In portions of Wales,
such as Brecon, Denbigh and Merioneth, and in the English coun-
ties of the Welsh border, it nests annually ; also in Lancashire,
some parts of Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland; but its
head-quarters are in Westmoreland and Cumberland, where it ap-

PIED FLYCATCHER.

pears to be on the increase. In Scotland it is much rarer, but it
is said to have bred as far north as Inverness-shire, and it has
occurred in the Orkneys on migration. In Ireland an adult female
was shot by Mr. R. Warren at Moyview, co. Sligo, on April 19th
1875, and in the autumn of 1886 two examples were killed by
striking against lighthouses.

A wanderer to the Faeroes, the Pied Flycatcher breeds regularly
up to 69° N. lat. in Scandinavia, 65° in Finland, and about 6o°
in Northern Russia to the Ural Mountains ; southward, in suitable
wooded localities, throughout the greater part of Europe down to the
centre of Spain ; and eastward, as far as Palestine ; while it has been
met with in Northern Persia. In Algeria it is said to be a resident
species, its migrations extending to the Canaries, and down the west
side of Africa to the Gambia, as well as on the east side to Egypt.

The nest is generally placed in a hole in a tree in rather thin
groves of old oaks, birches or aspens, the same spot being resorted
to in successive seasons; occasionally holes in walls are utilized.
It is made of dry grass and roots, with a lining of hair ; the eggs,
6-9, laid from the middle of May to the first week in June, are pale
blue, with, occasionally, a few fine specks of reddish-brown : average
measurements '68 by '52 in. Like its congener, the Pied Fly-
catcher feeds principally upon insects, but it does not so often catch
them on the wing, preferring to take up its position at the extremity of
a dead bough, whence it can dart upon them in the grass beneath ;
and it is frequently to be seen among the highest branches of forest
trees (Macpherson), The song resembles that of the Redstart.

The adult male in breeding-plumage is black on the upper parts,
with a white frontal band, conspicuous white outer margins to the
secondaries, and an obscure band of grey across the rump ; under
parts white ; bill, legs and feet black. Length 5 in. ; wing 3*1 in.
Less mature males show some white on the outer margins of the
two exterior pairs of tail-feathers. After the autumn moult the
upper parts are somewhat browner, but the white frontal patch is
always present. In the female the frontlet, wing-patches and under
parts, are buffish-white, and the upper parts are olive-brown. The
young bird in nestling-plumage is mottled on the back like the
Spotted Flycatcher, but the white on the wings is very conspicuous
in the male. The upper figure represents a male in breeding-
plumage ; the lower one a young male killed in September.

The White-collared Flycatcher, M. colldris , was introduced by
Gould to the British list, but there is no proof of its occurrence in
England. The male has a white frontlet and collar.

MUSCICAPID.-F

153

THE RED-BREASTED FLYCATCHER.

Muscicapa parva, Bechstein.

This small Flycatcher is one of those species which, like the
Isabelline and Desert Wheatears, have their usual habitat to the
east of our island, but in autumn and winter often migrate in a
westerly direction. Its occurrence in England was first noticed
near Falmouth, where two examples were seen for several days, and
one — a female— was shot on January 24th 1863. In the October
following, a young male was obtained on one of the Scilly Islands ;
and on November 5th 1865, a bird so damaged by shot that its sex
could not be determined, was taken on Trescoe. On October 5th
1883, a young male was killed by Mr. G. Bolam in his garden at
Berwick-on-T weed.

As a straggler the Red-breasted Flycatcher has been taken in
Denmark and off the south coast of Sweden, and two examples
have been obtained in autumn on Heligoland. It breeds sparingly
in North-eastern Germany and in the St. Petersburg district, south
of which, in Central Europe, it becomes more plentiful in summer,
though very local. To the south-east of France it is an occasional
visitor ; and, from the accurate description of a careful observer, I

*54

RED-BREASTED FLYCATCHER.

have no doubt of its irregular occurrence, during winter, in the
south-west of Spain. Though only a migrant in Italy, the islands
of the Mediterranean, Greece, and the Black Sea region, it breeds
in Southern Russia, the Caucasus and Northern Persia; while east-
ward, it occurs in Turkestan, and in Siberia as far as Lake Baikal,
where it probably nests, as it visits Northern India and China in
winter ; but in that direction its range can with difficulty be traced,
owing to the intrusion of a doubtfully distinct species. The winter
migrations of our bird extend to Nubia. It arrives in Northern
Germany in May, generally leaving early in September ; and it
appears to be partial to beech-woods, or those where beech and fir
are intermixed.

The nest, built about the beginning of June, is rather deep and
cup-shaped, neatly formed of moss and a few lichens, with a lining
of dry grass and hair. It is usually placed in a hole in the trunk
or some rotten branch of a beech-tree, but occasionally in a fork
against the stem, from six to ten feet from the ground. In ap-
pearance the eggs, 5-7 in number, are intermediate between those
of the Redbreast and the Spotted Flycatcher ; having a very pale
greenish ground-colour, with mottlings of rusty-brown : average
measurements ‘63 by ‘5 in. The young are hatched by the end of
June, and their food, like that of the adults, consists of insects, in
search of which the birds soon leave their breeding-grounds in the
forests for the gardens and orchards of the vicinity. The habits of
this species are lively and active, and in pugnacity, as in plumage,
the male resembles our Redbreast. It has a pleasant song, resem-
bling the syllables tivi several times repeated, while the alarm-note
is a clear pink, pink.

The adult male in breeding-plumage has the cheeks ash-grey ;
crown and nape browner grey ; upper parts in general wood-brown ;
tail (of twelve feathers) rather darker brown, with conspicuous white
bases to all except the central pair; chin, throat and upper breast
reddish-orange ; belly white ; sides and flanks pale buff; bill brown ;
legs dark brown. Length 4*5 in. ; wing 2 ‘8 in. I he female has no
ash-grey on the head and her throat is merely reddish-buff. The
young have a spotted nestling-plumage, and afterwards the wing-
coverts and secondaries are tipped with buff ; otherwise they resemble
the female. The male breeds in the immature plumage of the first
year, while the orange-red on the throat does not extend to the breast
until after the third moult.

H 1 RUN D I N I D/E,

iS5

THE SWALLOW.

Hirundo rustica, Linnseus.

This well-known summer-visitor usually arrives in the southern
portions of our islands during the first half of April, and thence-
forward it is generally distributed, although somewhat scarce and
local in the extreme north, and decreasing in the north-west. It
visits the Outer Hebrides, and will probably be found to breed there,
exceptionally, as is the case in the Orkneys and Shetlands.

The Swallow occurs in the Fseroes in May, and has been known
to stray to Iceland, Spitsbergen and Novaya Zemlya. It nests in
Scandinavia up to 70° N. lat., but not quite as far as the Arctic
circle in Russia; eastward and southward, its breeding-range extends
over Europe, Asia north — as a rule — of the great mountain ranges,
and Northern Africa; while during winter it is found through-
out the Indian region as far as Burma and the Malayan peninsula,
and all over Africa. My space will not permit a discussion of its
allies, and I must refer my readers to Mr. R. B. Sharpe’s excellent
remarks in the ‘ Cat. Birds Brit. Mus.’ vol. x., especially those on
pp. 126-127 ; merely observing that, by way of Asia, a connection
appears to be established near Lake Baikal with the North Ameri-
can Swallow, H. erythrogaster of Boddaert, better known as H. hor-
reorum. The latter, although found in Greenland, does not cross
the Atlantic to us, nor has our bird been observed further west than

!56

SWALLOW.

about 180 miles beyond the Azores. In Egypt there is a resident
subspecies, H. savignii , with the under parts nearly as ruddy as the
throat.

The nest was, no doubt, originally built in caves, and even now
these are sometimes resorted to, but at the present day it is usually
placed about human habitations or buildings of some kind ; often it
is in chimneys, though almost any ledge or projection will serve ;
while exceptionally it has been found in forks of boughs of trees,
and in even more remarkable sites. Mud, with a mixture of short
straws, and a lining of feathers and fine grasses, is the material
employed, and the structure has generally the shape of half a saucer ;
the eggs, usually 4-6, are white, blotched and speckled with several
shades of grey and brown : average measurements '82 by ’54 in.
Two broods are produced in the season, but I have known even three
hatched by the same pair of (marked) birds, although I believe that
the last brood, still in the nest on October 23rd, was not reared.
Belated individuals are said to have been observed in England during
the winter months. To the extreme south of Europe the Swallow
returns by the end of January, and below Seville I found many
broods hatched by April 1 6th . Large flocks collect together in
autumn, prior to their departure for the south, and are then conspic-
uous on roofs, trees and telegraph-wires, especially in the vicinity of
water. The food mainly consists of gnats and crane-flies in spring,
and small beetles in summer. The soft, low twittering song can
hardly be described ; the alarm-note may be syllabled as fcetafeet-
feetafeetit.

The adult male in spring has the forehead and throat chestnut ;
crown, upper parts and a pectoral band deep metallic blue ; quills
dark bluish-green ; tail bottle-green, with white patches on the inner
webs of all except the central pair of feathers, the long outside
streamers exceeding the next pair in length by fully two inches ;
belly and under wing-coverts buff ; under tail-coverts pale chestnut ;
bill, legs and feet black, and very small. Length 7'5 to 8 in. ;
wing 4*8 in. The female has a shorter tail, the forehead less chest-
nut, and the under parts whiter. I he young are duller in colour ;
the frontlet and throat are pale chestnut, and the spots on the tail
are tinged with rufous. The moult takes place in winter, and I
noticed that the birds which were breeding in the south of Spain
in April had not then attained the warm buff tint on the under
parts, which I observed later.

HIRUNDINIDAC.

157

THE MARTIN.

Chel/don urbica (Linnteus).

The Martin, sometimes called the House-Martin to distinguish it
from the Sand-Martin, usually arrives a few days later than the
Swallow, and is of general distribution during the summer through-
out the British Islands. In the north, however, it is rather local
and even of irregular occurrence, while in some parts of the
north-west it has become decidedly scarcer of late years. It does
not appear to visit the Outer Hebrides, and only breeds sparingly
in the Orkneys and Shetlands. By the middle of October the bulk
of the Martins have left this country, but considerable flocks have
been noticed up to the middle of November, and birds generally
young — have been obtained in Hecember. Mr. More says that in
Ireland it is less common than the Swallow.

The Martin is a rare visitor to Iceland, but in the Faeroes it is not
uncommon on the spring migration. In Scandinavia it breeds in
colonies, in the rocks as well as under the eaves of dwellings, as far
as about lat. 70° N., but in Russia its range in that direction is
less extensive \ while eastward our bird is not known beyond the
valley of the Ob, its place being taken in Siberia by Ch. lagopoda, a
well-defined species, with a shorter and squarer tail, and entirely
white upper tail-coverts. In the Himalayas the representative
species, Ch. cashmiriensis, is smaller, with shorter and less deeply-

MARTIN.

158

forked tail ; but our bird is found during the breeding-season
in North-western India, Turkestan, Persia, Palestine, Asia Minor,
and throughout Europe, except in the Basque Provinces, where, for
some mysterious reason, it is almost unknown. It also breeds
abundantly in North Africa; visits the Canaries and Madeira; and
probably winters in Central Africa, inasmuch as examples have
been obtained in Abyssinia on the east side, and off the coast of
Guinea on the west.

The nest, constructed of mud, is not open at the top like that of
the Swallow, but is shaped like the quarter of a cup, and is fixed
against a wall, bridge or rock, beneath eaves or other projections ;
the hole for entrance being in the top or corner of the side. On
rocky coasts, and in mountain districts, especially those where lime
stone prevails, the nests are often placed in large numbers against the
cliffs. Upon a lining of fine straws and feathers, the eggs, 4-5, of a
pure white, are deposited : average measurements 79 by ‘52 in. In-
cubation lasts a fortnight, and two or even three broods are pro-
duced in the season ; the same spot being occupied year after year.
The food of the Martin consists entirely of insects, and it is a pity
that this beneficial bird should be dispossessed and driven from its
home, as it often is, by the almost useless House-Sparrow. This
has lately happened to several colonies in the West-end of London.
The note is a low twitter, something like the word spritz.

The adult has the upper parts of the head, nape and back glossy
bluish-black ; rump white, as are the upper tail-coverts, except those
next the tail, which are bluish-black ; wings and the forked tail
dingy black ; under parts white, as also the feathers which cover the
legs and toes ; bill black. Length 5-25 ; wing 4-2 in. The sexes are
alike in plumage. The young bird is sooty-brown above, with hardly
any gloss ; the rump and under parts are dull white ; the tail is
shorter and less forked ; and some dark feathers on each side of the
neck form an incipient collar.

An American Purple Martin, Prague purpurea, said to have been
shot near Kingstown in 1839 or 1840, is in the Museum of Science
and Art, Dublin. An American Tree-Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor,
said to have been killed at Derby in 1850, is now in the Museum at
Norwich. There are no other instances of the occurrence of these
species in Europe ; and, even assuming the correctness of the state-
ments, the birds had probably received “ assisted passages.”

HIRUNDIN1D/E.

*59

THE SAND-MARTIN.

Cotile riparia (Linnmus).

The Sand-Martin, the smallest member of the family which visits
our islands, is one of the earliest species to arrive in spring, often
making its appearance during the last week in March. It is also one
of the first to quit our shores, its southward migrations commencing
in August and terminating in October ; but, exceptionally, it has been
known in co. Limerick as late as November 30th [1859]. Owing to
the nature of its haunts it is somewhat locally distributed through-
out the British Islands, but upon the whole it is widely diffused ;
and, in T887, Mr. A. H. Evans ascertained that it nested near
Lerwick in the Shetlands, where it had not previously been known
to breed. In Ireland, according to Mr. More, it is not so numerous
as the House-Martin.

In the Fteroes and Iceland the Sand-Martin has not yet been
obtained, but on the Continent it is generally distributed from 70°
N. lat. to the Mediterranean in summer • while it also breeds spar-
ingly in the northern districts of Africa, and abundantly in Egypt
and Palestine. Eastward, it is found across Asia ; on the American
continent it breeds in large colonies in Alaska and up to 68° N. lat.
on the Mackenzie River; and we trace it to Newfoundland. In

i6o

SAND-MARTIN.

winter it visits Mexico, Central America and the valley of the
Amazon ; and— -in the Old World— China, the Indian region, and
South-eastern Africa down to Zanzibar. Occasionally it wanders to
the Canary Islands.

The nest is generally made in banks— whether natural, such
as earth-cliffs by the sides of rivers and lakes, or artificial, such
as railway-cuttings, sandpits and gravel quarries — or even in
huge heaps of half-rotten sawdust. In such situations galleries
slanting slightly upwards are bored, and, in a somewhat wider
chamber at the end, the nest is formed of a little dry grass with an
abundance of feathers. The eggs, usually 4-6, are pure white :
average measurements *7 by ‘48 in. In some parts of Norway the
Sand-Martin burrows into the turf-covered roofs of the peasants’
houses, and in this country holes in old walls are not unfrequently
utilized. Small colonies are often ousted by the overbearing House-
Sparrow, but where large numbers congregate, they are able to defy
intruders. Two broods are generally produced in the season, and
after leaving their flea-haunted nest, the young betake themselves to
the vicinity of water, where they feed all day upon the abundance of
insects produced in such localities, and roost at night in large
numbers in the reed-beds and plantations. Gnats and other insects
form the food of this species. The male has a low twittering song,
but the alarm-note is rather harsh.

The adult male is hair-brown above, slightly darker on the crown
and lighter on the rump ; wings and tail blackish-brown ; under
parts white, except a mottled brown pectoral band ; bill black ; legs
dark brown, with a tuft of pale buff-coloured feathers above the hind
toe. Length 4’8 ; wing 4 in. The female has a rather narrower
band across the throat. The young bird, shown in the upper figure
of the woodcut, has the feathers of the upper parts tipped with dull
white, and the under parts tinged with buff.

In the rocky gorges and mountainous regions of Central and
Southern Europe many of my readers may have noticed a rather
larger bird, resembling our Sand-Martin in the colour of its upper
parts, but displaying white spots on its outspread tail. This is the
Crag-Martin, Cotile rupistris , a bird which has not yet been found
in the British Islands, but which may possibly stray to our shores,
as it breeds regularly no further off than Switzerland. This species
has not the small tuft of feathers on the tarsus, and its eggs are
spotted, like those of the Swallow.

KRINGILLIN/E.

161

THE GREENFINCH.

Ligurinus chloris (Linnaeus).

The Greenfinch, sometimes called the Green Linnet, is a common
and well-known resident species in the cultivated and wooded dis-
tricts of Great Britain and Ireland. In the bleaker portions of our
islands it is, naturally, less abundant ; but it has spread with the
increase of plantations of late years, and even in the Orkneys it
now breeds sparingly, although to that group, the Hebrides and the
Shetlands, it is chiefly a visitor in autumn and winter. Large flocks
annually arrive on our east coast in October.

To the Faeroes the Greenfinch is only a rare wanderer ; but south
of 65° N. lat. in Norway and 6o° in the Ural Mountains it is more
or less sedentary in suitable localities throughout Europe. In Spain,
Northern Africa, Palestine and Asia Minor, our comparatively
large and dull-coloured bird is only observed during the winter
months, and the race which breeds is distinctly smaller, and
— especially on the forehead — more brightly coloured. Extremes
of this form have been named Z. chloroticus ; while intermediate

[62

GREENFINCH.

examples have been styled L. aurantiiventris. Eastward, the Green-
finch is found as far as the north-west of Persia and Turkestan ; but
in Eastern Siberia, China and Japan, the representative species is
L. sinicus, with greyish head, brown mantle, and yellowish-brown
under parts. As a straggler the Greenfinch has occurred in
Madeira, and as an introduced species in the United States.

The nest is placed in hedges, shrubs and evergreens, or some-
times in tolerably tall trees, frequently amongst ivy, and occasion-
ally in such unusual situations as a cavity in a tree or a hollow
at the top of a gate-post. It is a rather loose and slovenly struc-
ture, built, without any attempt at adaptation to the surroundings,
of coarse fibrous roots, moss and wool, with a lining of finer
materials, hair and feathers. The eggs, 4-6 in number, are pale
greenish-white, blotched, spotted, and often zoned with reddish-
brown and purplish-grey: average measurements '83 by ‘55 'n- ^ot
unfrequently several nests may be found in close proximity. The
first laying takes place about the end of April, and two broods are
often reared in the season. The young are fed upon caterpillars
and other insects, and soft seeds ; later, berries of various kinds are
also consumed ; and in autumn flocks may be seen on the stubbles.
The song is poor, while the call-note is a long-drawn twe-e-e, often
repeated by the male as he sits on the top of a hedge or bush. In
confinement the Greenfinch is easily domesticated, and shows a
moderate capacity for learning the songs of other birds ; it also
interbreeds freely with several species of Finch, and, in a wild
state, with the Linnet.

The adult male has the lores dusky black ; forehead greenish-
yellow ; a golden-yellow stripe over each eye ; crown, neck and
mantle olive-green, turning to yellow on the rump ; secondaries
brownish-grey, darker on the shafts and inner margins ; quills greyish-
brown with yellow outer webs ; central tail-feathers and terminal
portion of the rest blackish-brown with greyish edges, the basal
portions yellow ; under parts greenish-yellow, greyer on the flanks ;
bill dull flesh-colcur, darkest at the tip; legs and feet pale wood-
brown. Length of the large form about 6 in., and wing 3'5 in. ;
but a brilliant specimen of the smaller race, now before me, measures
rather less than 5 in. and the wing barely 3‘2 in. Ihe female is
somewhat smaller and far less brightly coloured than the male, the
head and mantle being greenish-brown with darker striations, and
the under parts generally dusky, with very little yellow. 1 he young
are dull brown, tinged with yellow, and spotted and streaked with
darker brown.

ERINGILLIN/E.

163

THE HAWFINCH.

Coccothraustes vulgaris, Pallas.

The Hawfinch is a bird of shy and retiring habits, and unless at-
tention be attracted to it by the shrill and — when once heard — un-
mistakable whistle, its presence may easily escape detection. There
can be no doubt that its numbers have been steadily increasing during
the last fifty years ; and, though its distribution is local, its nest has
perhaps been found in every county in England, excepting Corn-
wall, as far north as the Lake district, where the bird becomes rare.
To Wales its visits — even to Brecon — are exceptional, although it
breeds sparingly in Herefordshire. In spite of the extension of the
metropolis, the Hawfinch is not yet banished as a breeding-species
from the county of Middlesex, and it is comparatively common in
Essex, Herts, Bucks, Berks and Surrey, while in some portions of
Kent it may almost be called abundant. In Scotland it has been
obtained accidentally in winter, both in the Solway district and as
far north, possibly, as Banff; but Messrs. Harvie-Brown and Buckley
have not found it in Sutherland, and are evidently sceptical as to its
reported occurrence in Caithness. To Ireland, according to Mr.
More, it is a rare and irregular migrant in winter.

Even in the south of Scandinavia the Hawfinch is only a winter-
visitor, but in Russia it has been found nesting as far north as
the St. Petersburg district. Over Central Europe, in suitable
localities, it appears to be generally distributed, although nowhere
very common ; but in the south, from Spain to Turkey, and in Asia

o 2

164

HAWFINCH.

Minor, it is a more abundant resident species. In North-western
India we find Mr. Sharpe’s new and paler species, C. humii, while a
slightly different subspecies, C. Japonicus, inhabits Eastern Siberia,
North China and Japan. In Morocco the Hawfinch is rare ; but
it breeds sparingly in Algeria, and has wandered to Egypt and
Palestine.

The nest, built early in May, is generally placed in trees over-
grown with grey lichens, such as old hawthorns, apple- and pear-
trees ; the horizontal branches of oaks, beeches and spruce firs, the
heads of pollarded hornbeams, and holly bushes are also selected.
It is a rather flat structure, built of twigs mixed with more or less
grey lichen, and lined with fine roots and a little hair. The eggs,
4-6 in number, are pale olive- or bluish-green, spotted and streaked
irregularly with dark olive- and greyish-brown : average measure-
ments '98 in. by 72 in. Only one brood is reared in the season, but
if the first nest is interfered with, another is built. The young are
fed largely on caterpillars, but afterwards the food of this species
consists of peas, the kernels of cherry-stones (which are crushed by
the powerful bill), and especially of the seeds of the hornbeam and
other trees, beechmast, haws and similar berries. In winter small
parties and even flocks are formed, and a certain amount of
movement — hardly to be called migration — takes place. The
song is short and poor 3 the call-note is a prolonged whistle
repeated four times.

Adult male in summer : lores and a narrow frontal line connect-
ing them, and also the rhroat, deep black; head orange-brown;
nape grey ; back dull brown, paler on the rump and tail-coverts ;
upper wing-coverts blackish, followed by a line of white which turns
to brown on the secondaries; quills black, with white patches on the
inner webs and with steel-blue tips, which, from the fifth inwards,
are jagged ; tail-coverts orange-brown, and very long ; tail-feathers
black at the bases and dark on the outer webs, ends white , under
parts vinous-brown ; bill dull black at tip, leaden-blue at base ; legs
and feet flesh-colour. Length 7 in. ; wing nearly 4 in. Female : less
orange-brown on the head and duller in colour. In winter the bill
in both sexes is pale horn-colour. The young bird has the head
and cheeks yellowish-brown ; mantle mottled-brown ; under parts
dirty white, spotted and barred with dark brown ; throat white,
tinged with yellow ; bill olive. By August black feathers appear on
the throat.

FRINGILEIN/E.

THE GOLDFINCH.

Cardu£lis f.legans, Stephens.

Owing to the arts of the bird-catcher, and also to the improvements
in cultivation, which have done away with many of the tracts
formerly covered with thistles and other weeds, the Goldfinch has
undoubtedly decreased in numbers during the last half century ;
although the Wild Birds’ Preservation Act, and perhaps the present
agricultural depression, have somewhat operated in its favour during
the past few years. Though local, and principally to be found
during the breeding-season in the neighbourhood of gardens and
orchards, it still nests in every county in England — not excepting
Northumberland, where it has bred at Greenhead ; while it is toler-
ably common along the Eden valley in Cumberland, although in
the northern and western counties a comparatively rare bird.
Beyond the Border it has almost disappeared from the Lothians,
owing to the influence of high farming ; but I am informed by Mr.
R. Service that, after a marked diminution, it is again on the in-
crease in the Solway district. It is said to breed sparingly as far
north as Caithness, and on one occasion it has nested in the south
of Skye, while as a straggler it has occurred in Mull and Eigg (Mac-
pherson). In Ireland it is common in suitable localities. A large
proportion of the Goldfinches which inhabit England during the
summer, as well as flocks which have arrived from the Continent,
migrate southward across the Channel in October, and return north-
ward in April.

i66

GOLDFINCH.

South of about 64° N. lat. in Norway, and 6o° in the Ural
Mountains, the Goldfinch is found breeding throughout Europe,
although rare in the north ; while in Spain and other southern
countries it is exceedingly abundant and very bright in colour. It is
a resident in Madeira, the Canaries and Northern Africa ; visits
Egypt in winter ; and ranges eastward to Persia. There, and gene-
rally to the east of the line of the Urals, we find a larger form, known
as C. major , with nearly white rump and flanks ; and in Southern
Siberia this meets and interbreeds with C. caniceps, which has no
black on the crown and nape, but more white on the wing.

The compact nest— like that of the Chaffinch, but smaller, neater,
and of finer materials, and without the conspicuous lichens— is built
about the middle of May, and is generally placed in a fork of a fruit-
tree, though often in a hedge or evergreen shrub. The eggs, 4-5,
are greyish-white, spotted and streaked with purplish-brown : average
measurements -66 by '5 in. Two broods are produced in the year,
and young have been found in the nest in September. At first they
are fed with insects and larvae ; but the principal food of the
Goldfinch consists of seeds of the thistle, knapweed, groundsel, dock
and other plants. The song of this favourite cage-bird is well
known ; its call-note is a sharp twit. In captivity it breeds with
several other species of Finch.

Adult male : feathers at the base of the bill and lores, black ;
forehead and throat glossy crimson-red ; cheeks and lower throat
white ; crown and the parts behind the cheeks black ; on the nape
a narrow line of white ; back wood-brown ; wings black, tipped with
white on the inner quills and barred with bright yellow ; tail-co\erts
white with black bases ; the three outer pairs of tail-feathers black
with white central spots, the remainder black, tipped with white ;
breast white, banded with brownish-buff, with a yellow tint beneath ;
flanks buff; belly and under tail-coverts white; bill whitish with
a black tip ; legs and feet pale flesh-colour. Length 5 in. ; wing
2-85 in. In less mature males, only the 1st and 2nd pairs of
tail-feathers have white spots. The female has a more slender bill,
the crimson of the throat is less extensive, and she shows no yellow
tint in the breast. The young, known as ‘grey-pates,’ ‘bald-
pates ’ and ‘ branchers,’ are greyish-brown on the upper parts ; the
wing-tips are buffish-white, and only the outer pair of tail-feathers
show the white spot. Some birds, known as cheverels, .lune the
throat white ; examples from Morocco have the back isabellme,
and there are several other variations.

FRINGILLINjE.

167

THE SISKIN.

ChrysomItris spInus (Linnaeus).

The Siskin, or Aberdevine as it has been called since the time of
Albin, is principally known in England and Wales during winter
and on its migrations to and from its more northern breeding-
quarters ; but there is evidence that it has bred, exceptionally, in
Surrey, Sussex, and perhaps some other southern counties. In the
north, where fir-woods are more abundant, it has nested in the
county of Durham ; while a few pairs breed regularly in some
parts of Cumberland, and in the Solway district in Scotland.
From Perthshire northward, it nests freely in some of the old
fir-woods and in other suitable localities up to Caithness ; in
East Sutherland it is said to be resident, and it also breeds in
Ross-shire ; but on the western side generally it is only a somewhat
rare winter-visitor, and I do not trace it to the Hebrides or the
Orkneys, although it wanders to the Shetlands. In Ireland it
is resident in cos. Wicklow and Waterford, and nests in Down,
Antrim, and probably in other localities where pine-trees flourish ;
while in winter it is tolerably common over a much larger area.

In Northern Europe the breeding-limit of the Siskin coincides
with that of conifer-growth ; and southward, the bird nests in some
of the fir-woods of Germany, South Holland, France, Switzerland,
Northern Italy as far as the vicinity of Florence, Austria, and

i68

SISKIN.

the Caucasus ; while elsewhere it is found on migration down to
the Mediterranean. No recent visitors to the Canaries have found
it there ; but in severe winters it is said to cross to Morocco and
Algeria. Eastward it has been met with in Asia Minor, Northern
Persia, and across Siberia to China and Japan, being a favourite
cage-bird in the latter. In the Indian region, from Cashmere to
Western China, the representative species is Ch. spinoides.

The Siskin generally produces two broods in the year, and St.
John found well-fledged young near Nairn as early as April 26th.
Firs of some kind or birches are the trees usually selected, and the
nest, while occasionally placed at the top against the main-stem,
is generally high up and at the end of a long lateral branch ; but
sometimes it is built in gorse and other bushes. Fir twigs, fine roots
and green moss are the materials employed to form a tolerably neat
structure, which is lined with horsehair and a few feathers. The eggs,
usually 5, are slightly smaller than those of the Goldfinch, rather
bluer in ground-colour, and speckled with dull lilac and reddish-
brown : average measurements ‘65 by ‘47 in. Siskins not unfre-
quently breed in captivity, but there is a difficulty in rearing the
young, as in the earlier stages they appear to require Aphides , such
as infest the leaves and green shoots of the alder. Later in the
year, beechmast, and seeds of rag-weed and other plants are eaten.
The call-note is loud and clear, resembling the word glee— or zeisig,
whence the bird’s German name — and the song is pretty and
varied.

The adult male has the chin, lores and top of the head black ;
cheeks and ear-coverts dusky-greenish ; above and behind each
eye, to the nape runs a broad streak of yellow, which unites with
the upper breast of the same colour ; mantle greenish-olive, streaked
with dusky-black; rump yellow; the central pair of tail-feathers
dusky-black, the others black near the tips, yellow at the bases and
on the inner webs ; wing-coverts black tipped with yellow ; quills
blackish, with yellow margins and bases forming two irregular bars ;
belly white ; flanks yellowish, streaked with black ; bill pale brown ;
legs dull brown. Length 4-6 ; wing 2 -8 in. In autumn the colours
are duller, and there is hardly any black on the chin. The female
is streaked with dusky on the crown, and has very little yellow
on the rump, wings and tail; the under parts are yellowish-white,
streaked with dusky. The young are still duller and greyer in
appearance.

FRINGILLIN^E.

169

THE SERIN.

SerInus hortulanus, K. L. Koch.

The occurrence of the Serin in England was first recorded from
the neighbourhood of Portsmouth (Naturalist, 1853, p. 20), by Mr.
W. Hazel, of notorious good fortune in obtaining exotic Finches in
this country. Subsequently, about eight examples have been obtained
by bird-catchers in Sussex — most of them near Brighton ; one or two
near London, one in Norfolk, and one in Somersetshire. Almost
all of these were noticed either in spring or in autumn ; and although
the Serin is a very common cage-bird abroad and likely to be im-
ported, yet, considering that it breeds no further off than Luxem-
burg, it may possibly be a genuine visitor to our shores.

The Serin has wandered to Sleswick, and at least a dozen exam-
ples have been obtained on Heligoland; its northern breeding-
range extending to Darmstadt and the upper portions of the Rhine
and Moselle valleys. Southward, it is found— generally at the foot
of mountains skirting the plains — throughout the greater part of
Europe, and on both sides of the Mediterranean; in Asia Minor, it
is resident and extremely abundant ; and eastward it can be traced
to Egypt and Sinai. It visits the coast of Palestine in winter, but in
the higher regions of that country the representative species is A.
canonicus, a larger, paler and much yellower bird ; while in the Leba-
non, Taurus and other mountain ranges, reaching to North-western
India, is found A. pusillus , the male of which has a red forehead
and black throat and cheeks. As an introduced species the Serin
has occurred in the United States.

ijo

SERIN.

The nest of the Serin, placed in the fork of some tree or about
breast-high in a bush, is built of fine roots, bents, lichen and grey
moss, with a lining of softer materials. The eggs, 4-5, are pale
greenish-white, with light reddish-brown spots and a few darker
blotches : average measurements ‘6i by '47 in. The food consists
of various kinds of seeds. The song resembles the word zi-zi often
repeated, and a flock of birds settled in a tree produces a peculiar
buzzing or almost hissing sound.

Adult male in breeding-plumage : forehead, a line over each eye,
rump, throat and breast, bright yellow 3 cheeks and upper parts olive,
with dark brown streaks 3 great wing-coverts and secondaries edged
with dull white 3 quills and tail brown, margined with pale yellow ;
belly white 3 flanks boldly streaked with brown 3 bill horn-brown ;
legs pale brown. Length 4^5 ; wing 2 -6 in. Female much less
yellow and more striated. In winter both sexes are duller in colour 3
while the young in their first autumn exhibit hardly any yellow
tint.

Examples of the subspecies Seriuus canaria. peculiar to the
Canaries, Madeira and the Azores, have been obtained in England 3
and, although cages-full are known to be imported, there are
persons who wish to believe that the individuals captured are
not escaped birds, but stragglers from a warm to an inhospitable
climate. While upon the subject, it may be mentioned that the
above-named Mr. W. Hazel has stated (Nat. 1853, p. 20) that the
African Serin us icier us ( Crithagra chrysopyga of Swainson), was
taken near Portsmouth. Mr. Langdon recorded (Zool. 1886, p. 490)
that, among the many rarities obtained by the late Mr. Swaysland
of Brighton, there was a Citril Finch taken alive on October 14th 3
but on examination the bird proved to be a freely-imported South
African species, Serinus canicollis , another specimen of which has
since been captured. Montagu mentions an example of the American
Cyanospiza ciris, taken near Portland in 1802, which he, with his
accustomed good sense, naturally presumed to have escaped from
confinement. Another American species, the ‘ White-throated
Sparrow,’ Zonotrichia albicollis, (which is really a Bunting) having
been obtained near Aberdeen, was included and figured by the late
R. Gray in his ‘ Birds of the West of Scotland,’ and a second
example has been taken near Brighton.

FRINGILL1N/E.

17I

THE HOUSE-SPARROW.

PAsser dom£sticus (Linnaeus).

The House-Sparrow is generally distributed throughout Great
Britain and Ireland wherever human habitations are to be found,
except near some of the high moorland farm-houses and a few of
the most elevated villages. In proportion as land is brought under
cultivation, the Sparrow makes its appearance and rapidly increases,
so that it is now established in the Outer Hebrides and other places
where it was formerly unknown. As yet it does not appear to
have reached the Faeroes, but in Scandinavia it occurs, in suitable
localities, up to and a little beyond the Arctic circle ; while east-
ward, we trace it across Russia, and along the inhabited portions of
Siberia to Irkutsk; but not to China or Japan. A smaller and
paler race (known as P. indicus , but not considered by the best
authorities as entitled to specific distinction) inhabits Siam, Burma
and the Indian region, as far west as Southern Persia ; thence
gradations lead back to the typical bird, which is found almost
all over Europe where grain will grow. In Italy, and on the
island of Corsica, the representative species is P. italics , the male of
which has the crown chestnut instead of grey ; but although this
species has been found for a considerable distance up the Brenner
Pass, it has not yet infringed upon the territory of our bird, which,
on the northern side, reaches Innsbruck. In Sardinia, Sicily and

172

HOUSE-SPARROW.

Malta we find only P. hispaniolensis, also with a chestnut head, but
much blacker on the throat and flanks. In Spain our bird keeps
to the towns, and does not seem to clash with P. hispaniolensis,
which there breeds in the woods, often occupying the foundations
of inhabited nests of large birds of prey. Westward, the House-
Sparrow occurs in Madeira, but apparently not in the other Atlantic
islands. In Africa it is found from Morocco in the north to the
Albert Nyanza. near the Equator. Introduced, like the rabbit,
through officious ignorance, into Australia, New Zealand, and also
the United States, it has become such a curse that special legislation
is being loudly invoked for its destruction.

The well-known nest, of straw, hay, dry grass and all sorts of odd
materials, thickly lined with feathers, is placed indifferently in trees,
among climbing plants, under the eaves of roofs, in the spouts of
water-pipes, in holes in walls, and those in banks originally excavated
by the Sand-Martin ; in fact almost everywhere. The eggs, 5-6, are
pale bluish-white, blotched, speckled or suffused with ash- and dusky-
brown : average measurements g by '6 in. Three broods are fre-
quently reared in the season. The young are fed upon caterpillars
and the larvae of various destructive insects, and in this respect the
Sparrow is beneficial to the farmer ; but the voluminous evidence
collected on the subject shows that during the greater part of the
year an enormous amount of grain &c., is devoured, and the con-
sensus of opinion appears to be that, while extermination is not
advocated, the increase of this species must be checked. By defer-
ring the destruction of the insect-fed young until they are fledged,
the greatest amount of usefulness may be extracted from this bird,
which further causes incalculable harm by dislodging and driving
away the House-Martin and other purely insectivorous species.

Adult male : lores black ; a narrow streak of white over each eye ;
crown, nape and lower back ash-grey ; region of the ear-coverts
chestnut ; back chestnut-brown streaked with black ; wings brown,
with a bar of white on the middle coverts ; tail dull brown ; throat
and breast black, sometimes suffused with bright chestnut ; cheeks
and sides of the neck white ; belly dull white ; bill bluish-black ;
legs pale brown. Length 6 in. ; wing 3 in. In winter the colours
are duller and the bill is yellowish -brown. In the female the upper
parts are striated dusky-brown ; there is no black on the throat or
grey on the pate, and the under parts are brownish-white. I he young
bird is deeper brown both above and below; the middle wing-coverts
are tipped with buff ; the bill is dull yellow.

FRINGILLINjE.

173

THE TREE-SPARROW.

Passer montanus (Linnaeus).

The Tree-Sparrow is rarer and more local than the preceding
species, but it is undoubtedly extending its range, having recently
been found in the Hebrides, including St. Kilda, and in many other
places where a few years ago it was unknown. In the south-west of
England.it is as yet uncommon, and although in Wales it breeds in
Brecon, it is not abundant there : while it is at most very local in
Lancashire and Cumberland. It is probably more abundant in
Cambridgeshire and some of the eastern and midland counties than
elsewhere; but it is difficult to sketch its distribution with accuracy,
owing to the strong probability that, from its resemblance to the
House-Sparrow, it has often been overlooked. Large numbers
arrive from the Continent upon our east coast in autumn. In Scot-
land its settlements are mostly along the eastern side, from the
Border to Sutherland. Unknown in Ireland until 1852, it is now
a resident and increasing species near Dublin ; and its range is
evidently spreading, as Mr. H. M. Wallis found a pair in May 1886
on North Aran Island, off the Rosses, co. Donegal.

About 1869 the Tree-Sparrow reached the Faeroes, where it has
multiplied exceedingly; and in Norway, although still local, it has
now spread beyond the Arctic circle. Throughout the rest of north-
ern and temperate Europe it is generally distributed ; in Hungary
and Slavonia it is more abundant than the House-Sparrow; and,
although local, it may be said to be common in most parts of the
south, except in the islands of the Mediterranean. I have speci-

174

TREE-SPARROW.

mens from Valencia and Malaga in Spain, but it has not yet
been obtained in Portugal. It is rather common in the south of
France, and it breeds in many towns, and even in the city of Paris,
as may be seen by inspecting the thatched roofs in the Jardin des
Plantes. In Algeria it is rare, but it is said to visit Egypt and Arabia.
It is found throughout the greater part of Asia, south of about 58°
N. lat. , down to the Philippines and the Malay Peninsula ; and in
Java, where it was introduced less than a century ago, it has already
varied so much from the type as to be named var. malaccensis by
M. Dubois. Imported specimens have been obtained in North
America.

The nest is often placed at some distance from habitations, in
the soft rotten wood of pollard-willows and other trees : but in many
districts it is built in the outer side of the thatch of barns and out-
houses, and beneath the tiles of roofs, as well as under the coping of
old walls and in sea-cliffs ; in fact almost any hole will serve. The
materials employed are mostly dry grass and feathers ; the eggs,
4-6, smaller and more glossy than those of the House-Sparrow, are
greyish-white, generally freckled all over with rich hair-brown : aver-
age measurements '78 by '54 in. Two, and even three broods
are reared in the season; the first being hatched about the
middle of April. The young are fed on caterpillars and other
insects, soft vegetables &c., but later, both they and their parents
live principally upon small seeds ; while in winter both young and
old frequent rick-yards, highroads and even streets of towns, for the
horse-droppings. The male has a slight, though somewhat pleasant
song, but the ordinary call-note is a shrill chirp. In captivity this
species has bred with the House-Sparrow.

Unlike the preceding species, the sexes are alike in plumage. The
adult has the lores and a streak under each eye black ; crown and
nape warm reddish-brown ; cheeks and ear-coverts white, with a tri-
angular black patch ; mantle, wings and tail much as in the male
House-Sparrow, but both upper and lower wing-coverts tipped with
white, forming two distinct bands ; chin and throat to upper breast
black ; under parts greyish-white, brownish on the flanks ; bill black ;
legs and feet pale brown. Length 5 ‘6 in. ; wing 2^75 in. In the
young bird the plumage is duller, and the bands on the wings are
tinged with buff. As shown by the above measurements it is a
decidedly smaller species than the House-Sparrow.

FR1NGILLIN/K

175

THE CHAFFINCH.

FringIlla Calebs, Linnaeus.

The Chaffinch is a common and generally distributed species
throughout the cultivated or wooded portions of the British Islands ;
it may even be found nesting in low bushes in some of the treeless
Outer Hebrides, and also at a considerable elevation in the mountains
of Scotland, where it is undoubtedly increasing. As yet it has not
been recorded as breeding in the Shetlands, although it visits them
in winter ; at that season large flocks arrive from the Continent on
our east coast, while other bands, from the north of our island, spread
themselves over the inland provinces. Owing to a partial and
temporary separation of the sexes at this time, the name ccelebs , or
bachelor, was used by Linnaeus in reference to the deserted males.

As a straggler, the Chaffinch has been obtained in the Faeroes,
and in summer it occurs, in comparatively small numbers, nearly up
to the North Cape ; while south of the Arctic circle it is generally
distributed during the breeding-season throughout the temperate
regions of Europe down to the Mediterranean. Colonel Irby found
it breeding near Gibraltar, but in the south of Spain it must be very

176

CHAFFINCH.

local; for I neither obtained its nest, nor had its well-known eggs
brought to me, although in winter the bird is very common. Captain
S. G. Reid obtained it on the coast of Morocco ; but in that country
and in Algeria the representative inland species is F. spodiogenys , the
male of which has a bluish-grey head and nape, greenish back, and
under parts of a vinaceous white, while the female is much greyer than
our bird. Mr. R. B. Sharpe distinguishes the Madeiran Chaffinch as
F maderensis, and those of the Azores (F. moreleti ) and the Canaries
(F tinlillon ) as merely subspecies ; but the dark grey F. teydea,
found on the Peak of Teneriffe, is perfectly distinct. In winter our
Chaffinch occurs in Egypt ; it breeds on Hermon and Lebanon, and
in the forest region of Persia ; while it has been found as far east as
Omsk in Siberia.

The nest, almost too well known to need description, is generally
placed at a moderate height from the ground, in a fork of the lower
branches of a tree or in a bush, and is artfully composed of wool,
green moss, lichens and other substances felted together, with a
lining of hair and feathers. The eggs, 4-6 in number, are usually
of a pale greenish-blue, clouded with reddish- and spotted with
purplish-brown, but occasionally they are unspotted blue : average
measurements -8 by -6 in. Two broods are generally reared in the
season. The call-note is the familiar spink, spink, spink, to which
the bird owes one of its many local names, but the song varies much
in different localities, one of the commonest renderings being toll-toll ,
pretty-little , de-dr. Both young and old feed largely on insects and
on the seeds of weeds, so that in spite of a little pilfering of fruit,
vegetables and newly-sown seeds, the Chaffinch may be considered
as one of the gardener’s best friends.

Adult male in spring : forehead black ; crown and nape bluish-
grey ; back reddish-brown ; rump yellowish-green ; upper wing-coverts
white, greater coverts black, tipped with yellowish-white, forming two
conspicuous bars ; quills dull brown, slightly fringed with greenish-
white ; central tail-feathers dark grey, the rest black, with broad
white patches on the two exterior pairs ; cheeks, throat and under
parts rich reddish-brown, paler on the belly ; bill bluish-lead; legs
dull brown. Length 6 in. ; wing 3-4 in. In autumn the bill is
brownish, and the head is tinged with rufous. Female : head and
back light yellowish-brown; breast pale yellowish grey. Young:
similar to the female, but with paler tints at first ; the males, how-
ever, begin to show brighter colours within a fortnight.

FRfNGILLTN.*.

177

THE B RAMBLING.

Fringii.la monti fringIlla, Linnaeus.

I his species is a tolerably regular autumn- and winter-visitor
to many parts of Scotland, and migrants from Scandinavia may
be found in small parties among the Highland glens long before
their arrival is noticed in England, where their presence and relative
abundance depend upon the severity of the weather on the Con-
tinent. In hard winters the Brambling — or Mountain-Finch as it
is sometimes called — is very numerous, especially in the vicinity of
beech-woods ; but in other years it is not noticed, and in Cornwall
and the west its appearance is very uncertain. By the middle of
March almost all have returned to their northern breeding-grounds
but exceptionally a few pairs have been known to remain behind ;
and Mr. E. T. Booth states that in June 1866, while fishing in the
river Lyon, Perthshire, he had occasion to climb a beech-tree to
disentangle his line, when he disturbed a female Brambling from her
nest with three eggs. To Ireland this bird’s visits are very irregular,
and it is little known there, but at long intervals large flocks have

178

BRAMBUNG.

been observed in the beech-woods of Armagh and the north-eastern
districts, and also in co. Cork.

To the Fteroes the Bratnbling is only an exceptional visitor. On
the mainland it breeds throughout the sub-Arctic pine and birch
forests, from Norway to the valley of the Amur; while on mi-
gration it occurs in Japan, China, Northern India, Asia Minor and
the whole of Europe ; but it is only in very severe winters that it
pushes its wanderings to the African side of the Mediterranean.
Immense flocks sometimes visit Belgium, Holland, Germany and
Heligoland ; but statements that this species has nested in the
Pyrenees, the Alps, or the Ardennes, are as yet unconfirmed.

As a rule, the Bratnbling breeds at higher altitudes than those fre-
quented by the Chaffinch ; and its nest, usually placed where a branch
meets the stem of a birch- or fir-tree, but sometimes in small juniper
bushes, is bulkier, less compact, and largely composed of birch-bark.
Several pairs generally breed in company. The eggs, 6-7 in number,
laid late in May or early in June, are, as a rule, rather greener than
those of the Chaffinch and have more defined markings, but many
of each species are quite indistinguishable : average measurements
•8 by -6 in. The Brambling has bred several times in captivity.
Its food consists of insects, small seeds— especially those of the
knot-grass, beechmast, and the kernels of nuts. The call-note is a
harsh chirp, but the song of the male during the breeding-season
consists of several flute-like notes, resembling those of the Redwing.

The adult male in breeding-plumage has the head, cheeks, nape
and back glossy blue-black with white bases to the feathers, which
sometimes show in the form of an irregular collar; upper wing-
coverts orange-buff, tipped with white ; greater coverts black, margined
with white, which forms a conspicuous bar ; quills mostly brownish-
black, with whitish exterior margins ; rump white, mottled with
black ; tail-feathers black, with a little white at the base of the outer
pair ; throat and breast reddish fawn-colour ; belly dull white ;
flanks spotted with black ; under wing-coverts bright yellow ; bill
bluish-black ; legs brown. Length 6 in. ; wing 3-6 in. In autumn
and winter the black feathers of the head and back have long margins
of reddish-brown, as represented in the woodcut, which are shed in
spring ; a warm orange-brown pervades the wing- and tail-coverts,
breast and flanks ; and the bill is yellow, with a black tip. The
female is dull brown on the upper parts and has none of the rich
black and chestnut markings of the male. 1 he young at first
resemble the female, but the' males soon show signs of black on the
head and back, and the under parts are brighter fawn-colour.

FRINGILLIN/K.

T79

THE LINNET.

Acanthis cannabina (Linnaeus).

Owing to its seasonal changes of plumage this species is often
known as the Grey Linnet; also as the Red or Brown Linnet, to dis-
tinguish it from the Greenfinch, which is frequently styled the Green
Linnet. It is widely distributed throughout the greater part of the
British Islands, especially on uncultivated lands and furze-covered
tracts; but in the mountain-regions of Scotland it is replaced by the
Twite. Near Gairloch in Ross-shire it is almost unknown, and it
appears to be local in the Hebrides, although common enough
on some of the islands ; while from Shetland it is as yet un-
recorded. In autumn large flocks from the Continent arrive on our
east coasts, at the same time that a general migration southward
occurs among our home-bred birds.

The Linnet does not breed north of lat. 64° in Scandinavia
nor beyond 6o° in East Russia. Southward, it is found as a
resident all over Europe ; also in North-western Africa, the Canaries
and Madeira. Eastward, it appears to range as far as the Altai
Mountains ; but in Asia Minor, Hermon and Lebanon— breeding
nearly up to the snow-line— and in Persia and Northern India, the
representative race is more ash-coloured, with bright scarlet on the
breast, and more defined coloration; this form is known as

p 2

i8o

I.INN'ET.

A. fringillirostris or A. bclla. In winter one or both of these forms
visit Egypt and Abyssinia.

Breeding begins in April ; the nest being made of fine twigs,
moss and grass-stalks, and lined with wool, hair, vegetable-down
and sometimes a few feathers. It is generally placed in gorse or
juniper bushes, though often in hedges, and sometimes in low trees.
The eggs, 4-6 in number, are bluish-white, blotched, speckled and
streaked with reddish-brown and purplish-red : average measurements
•7 by 53 in. Two broods are often reared in the season. The food
consists of soft seeds, especially those of an oily nature, such as
the various species of flax and hemp ; grains of charlock, knot-
grass and other weeds are also largely consumed, while in winter
various kinds of berries and even oats are devoured. In autumn
the different families unite in large flocks, which may be seen cross-
ing the stubbles with swift dipping flight, uttering their musical and
rapidly-repeated twit, twit. At this season large numbers are taken
by bird-catchers, as the birds then adapt themselves more easily to
captivity than if captured in the spring. The natural song is sweet,
although somewhat irregular, but it is the capacity for learning the
notes of other birds which makes the Linnet so great a favourite for
the cage. In our cold, dull climate, captive males seldom acquire
in spring the fine crimson tints on the head and breast ; but abroad,
under the influence of warmth, bright sunshine and good food, Mr.
J. Young has known them do so, and in Madeira the wild males
appear to undergo hardly any eclipse.

The adult male in breeding-plumage has the forehead and centre
of the crown crimson ; rest of the head, nape and sides of the neck
mottled brownish-grey ; mantle chestnut-brown ; wing-feathers dull
black, with white outer edges which form a conspicuous elongated
bar ; upper tail-coverts dark brown, with broad whitish margins ;
tail-feathers black, narrowly edged with white on the outer and
broadly on the inner web ; chin and throat dull white, striped with
greyish-brown ; breast crimson, occasionally with a decided yellow
tinge ; belly dull white ; flanks fawn-brown ; bill horn-colour, legs
brown. Length 575 : wing3-isin. In autumn the bill is brownish,
the crimson feathers are concealed by wide grey margins, and the
under parts are more striated. The female is rather smaller and
duller in colour, with no crimson on the head and breast, and
little white on the wings, while both upper and under parts are
much streaked with dark brown. The young at first resemble the
female.

FRINGILT.IN.+'..

1 8 1

THE MEALY REDPOLL.

Acanthis unaria (Linnreus).

The logical separation of the various species or races of Redpolls
is one which presents unusual difficulties. The latest worker on the
subject, Mr. R. B. Sharpe, considers (Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xii.
pp. 245-257) the Mealy Redpoll, Acanthis linaria, as a main stem,
if I may use the term, with three subspecies, viz. : A. holboelli ,
rather larger and with a very much longer bill, found “ in Northern
Europe from Scandinavia to Eastern Siberia,” and, as a rare straggler,
twice in Norfolk; A. rostrata, “only distinguishable by the coarser
striping of the under parts and by the stouter and more obtuse bill,”
inhabiting Greenland and North-eastern America ; and our smaller
and ruddier Lesser Redpoll, A. rufcscens, of which more hereafter.
A. exilipes , with greyer rump, Mr. Sharpe considers to be a good
species, with a range extending from Northern Scandinavia across
Siberia, and throughout Northern America; while he puts down
as a subspecies of A. exilipes the rather larger A. hornemannt\ of
Eastern North America, Greenland, Iceland and Spitsbergen, one
example of which has been recorded by Mr. John Hancock, under
the name of Linaria canescens, as having been obtained near Whit-
burn, Northumberland, on April 24th 1855. The whole question
is incrusted by a voluminous literature, in which hardly two
authors agree as regards specific value or synonymy ; but, for the
sake of convenience, I propose to treat the Mealy Redpolls under

182

MEALY REDPOLL.

one heading, and to take our small, dark Lesser Redpoll sepa-
rately.

The typical Mealy Redpoll is a regular winter-visitor to Shetland
from September onwards, and the track of its migration appears
to be principally along the east coast in Scotland and the north of
England, for the bird is rarer and of more uncertain occurrence on
the west side. South of Durham its visits become irregular ; in the
Eastern Counties it has occasionally been obtained in spring, and
exceptionally in summer ; and in some years large flocks have been
noticed down to the Channel ; but in Cornwall it is as yet unknown.
In Ireland an example was taken in co. Kildare, in February 1876.

In Europe and Asia the Mealy Redpoll extends as far north as
the limits of birch-growth, but southward, it may be doubted if it
reaches below 58° N. lat. ; for the bird found breeding in the
mountain-regions of Central Europe is, probably, our Lesser Redpoll.
On migration it is irregularly abundant in the northern portions of
Europe, but rare in the south of France, Italy, Greece and Southern
Russia. As already stated, one or two races breed in Arctic
America, and a large form in Greenland, Iceland and Spitsbergen.

The nest, neatly built of bents, lichens and shreds of bark, with
a lining of catkins, hair and feathers, is usually placed in the low
fork of a tree, and sometimes in a tuft of grass. The eggs, 5-6,
are greenish-blue, spotted with reddish-brown : average measure-
ments 7 by -5 in. The young feed on insects and their larvae ; after-
wards on seeds, like the parents. Authorities differ widely as to
the song.

Adult male in spring : lores black ; forehead blood-red ; upper
parts dark brown, mottled and streaked with greyish-white, especially
on the rump, which is tinged with pink ; tail dark brown, with, paler
edges ; chin black ; throat and breast carmine ; lower parts dull
white, streaked with dark brown on the flanks ; bill horn-colour,
yellowish at the base; legs dark brown. Length 5 ’2 in. ; wing 2'g
in. Female : smaller; darker on the upper parts, and more streaked
on the lower ; no red on the breast. The young have the upper
feathers margined with buff and have no red on the forehead, but
are otherwise like the female. After the autumn moult the new
feathers have broad yellowish-grey margins, which, in the male, con-
ceal the carmine, and the general appearance is very pale ; whence
the name ‘ mealy,’ and, perhaps, that of ‘ Stone-Redpoll.’ The
Greenland form, as already observed, is larger than any of the other
races, paler, and with less carmine colour.

FRINGILLIN/E.

183

THE LESSER REDPOLL.

Acanthus kuf£scens (Vieillot).

The Lesser Redpoll, the smallest of our British Finches, may be
distinguished from the preceding by its size, and by its darker and
more rufous colouring. Throughout the greater portion of the year
it is generally distributed over the British Islands, and large numbers
are taken by bird-catchers from autumn to spring ; but in the breeding-
season it is rather local. Its distribution at that time in Scotland
appears to be somewhat dependent upon woods and plantations, and
is consequently irregular, nor does it extend to the Outer Hebrides ;
but in winter the bird is generally dispersed and partially migratory.
In England it nests, more or less commonly, north of a line drawn
through Shropshire, Leicestershire and Norfolk ; locally in Suffolk and
Cambridgeshire ; sparingly in Gloucestershire and along the upper
part of the Thames valley ; and more frequently than is generally
supposed in the counties of Middlesex, Surrey and Kent, in the
immediate vicinity and even in the suburbs of London. In Hants,
Wilts, Dorset and Devon, it is a very local breeder, and in the ex-
treme south-west it is rare at any time. Mr. Booth says that he
has never obtained it on migration from any of the light-ships on
the east coast of England. It nests commonly in many parts of
Ireland, and large flocks are sometimes seen in winter.

On the Continent the Lesser Redpoll is unknown to the north of

LESSER REDPOLL.

184

the Baltic, but it visits Heligoland (where it has once nested),
Western Germany, Holland, Belgium, and France down to the
Pyrenees. Bailly’s long-doubted statement as to its breeding in
Savoy has recently been confirmed by the fact that Mr. S. B.
Wilson found it nesting on the Engstlen Alp (6,100 feet) and in
other parts of Switzerland, while Professor Giglioli had already
done so on the Italian side ; and it now appears probable that this
species inhabits the greater part of the mountain-ranges of Central
Europe. In severe winters it occasionally pushes its migrations to
the south of Spain.

In the southern half of England the nest is often built in April,
but nearly a month later in the north. The situation selected varies
a good deal; in Norfolk, for instance, a small fruit-tree is often
chosen, while a good many pairs may be found breeding in low
alders and willows, down in the marshes ; again, small plantations
of conifers, shrubberies, and hazel-hedges are much frequented.
Pine twigs and grass stems, with a little moss and wool, are the mate-
rials employed for the exterior, the inside being beautifully lined with
vegetable-down (principally from the catkins of the willow), hair and
feathers. The eggs, 4-6 in number, are pale blue, spotted with
reddish-brown : average measurements -63 by ‘48 in. Two broods
are often reared in the season, and unfledged young have been found
in the nest as late as September 14th. In autumn the various
family parties unite to form large flocks, and rove about in search of
food, which, like that of other members of the family, consists
mainly of seeds. At all times of the year the Lesser Redpoll is a
remarkably tame and confiding bird, allowing a near approach ;
and it is also eminently sociable, being frequently found in the com-
pany of Siskins and other species. The usual note is a continuous
twitter, but the love-song of the male is rather loud and clear.

The adult male in spring has the lores and throat black, forehead
and crown blood-red ; upper parts of a darker and warmer brown
than in the Mealy Redpoll — especially the pink-tinted rump, while
the bands on the wings are rufous-buff, not white ; breast carmine-
red, and plumage otherwise as in the Mealy Redpoll; colour of
soft parts the same ; but the dimensions less, our bird measuring
only 4-25 in., and wing 275 in. After the autumn moult the red
tints are generally less brilliant, owing to the pale edges of the new
feathers ; but I have seen old males with plenty of crimson in
October. The female is smaller than the male, and has no red on
the rump or breast, but only on the forehead ; while the young
bird is even duller in colour, inasmuch as it has no red on the head.

FRINGIU.IN/E.

185

THE TWITE.

Acanthis flavirostris (Linnaeus).

'I'he Twite, or Mountain-Linnet as it is often called, may be dis-
tinguished from the Redpolls by its longer tail, more slender
appearance, and the absence of any crimson tint on the head or
breast. During the breeding-season it is an inhabitant of most of
our moorlands from the Midlands northward, and although more
frequent in the hilly districts, it nests at the lower level of the mosses
in Lancashire and elsewhere. It is, however, rather local; and in
Cumberland it has, for some unaccountable reason, decreased during
the last thirty years. On the mainland of Scotland the ‘ Hill Lintie ’
or ‘Yellow-neb Lintie,’ as it is called, becomes more abundant,
especially where there is a sufficiency of long rank heather ; and in
the neighbourhood of the shore, on the long arms of the sea so
numerous on the west coast, and in the Hebrides, Orkneys and
Shetlands it is extremely numerous. In Ireland it breeds commonly,
both on the mountains and on the coast, from Waterford in the south
to Donegal in the north. On the approach of cold weather the more
elevated districts are abandoned, and gradually increasing flocks
descend to the sea-shore, spreading themselves over the country ;
but in the south and east of England their appearance is somewhat
irregular as regards numbers, while in Cornwall the species is, like
the Lesser Redpoll, extremely rare.

On the Continent the Twite is found in summer among the islands

i86

TWITE.

and along the coast of Norway up to about 70° N. lat., but in
Sweden it is scarce even in the sub-alpine districts, and it is some-
what doubtful if it nests in Northern Russia. On migration it visits
Denmark and Northern Germany — sometimes passing in large num-
bers over Heligoland — Holland, Belgium and France ; but it seldom
goes far south, and its occurrences in Spain, Italy and Southern
Russia, are few and far between. In the east, however, from the
Caucasus and Asia Minor to Tibet, it is represented by A. brevirostris,
which is little more than a much paler form.

The nest is often placed in heather, or in low fruit and other bushes,
sometimes in ivy ; one favourite position in Scotland is among
the grass growing on rocks by the sea-shore, and another is beneath
a strip of turf which has been nearly reversed in ploughing or road-
making; while on Rathlin Island I found one on the ledge of a high
cliff, while seeking eggs of the Manx Shearwater. Fine roots for the
outside, with an ample lining of wool, a little hair and a few feathers,
are the materials employed ; the eggs, usually 3-4, but sometimes
6 in number, being pale greenish-blue, blotched with reddish-brown,
and rather more inclined to streakiness than those of the Linnet :
average measurements 7 by ‘5 in. Nidification commences about
the middle of May, and two broods are sometimes produced in the
season. The food consists largely of the seeds of charlock and
other weeds, but in the Shetlands the bird is said to be somewhat
destructive to the newly-springing turnips and cabbages. Its call-
note is indicated by its monosyllabic name. The Twite is usually
far more shy than the Lesser Redpoll.

The adult male in spring has the lores, cheeks and throat reddish-
buff ; crown, nape and mantle hair-brown with paler edgings ; wings
dark brown, with whitish margins to the greater coverts, inner
primaries and some of the secondaries — very noticeable in flight ;
rump rose-red ; tail-feathers brown, with whitish inner edges to the
three outer pairs ; breast and flanks buffish-white streaked with
hair-brown ; belly dull white ; bill pale yellow ; legs dark brown.
Length 5-25 ; wing 3 in. In winter the general appearance is
greyer, and the bill is less yellow. The female has no red on the
rump; the bar on the wing-coverts is buff; and the bill is dusky
brown at the tip. The young are somewhat duller in colour.

fringillina:.

187

THE BULLFINCH.

Pvrrhula europ^ea, Vieillot.

During the greater portion of the year the Bullfinch is a frequenter
of wooded districts ; and unless the white rump and, in the male,
the bright colour of the breast should happen to catch the eye,
the bird may often, by escaping notice, be considered far rarer
than is really the case. In spring, however, it frequently attracts
the attention of the gardener by its visits to his fruit-trees, and
although the damage done to the young buds may sometimes be over-
estimated, it cannot be denied that there is apparent ground for
complaint. Throughout suitable localities in England and Wales
the Bullfinch is generally distributed; and although rather more local
in Scotland, it has of late years spread to some of the Hebrides,
especially to the south-eastern part of Skye, but to the Orkneys and
Shetlands it is a rare visitor. In Ireland it is common, except in
treeless districts, and in the south is increasing.

In Northern and Eastern Europe and in Siberia, migrating south-
ward in winter, is found a large and brilliant race, which has been
segregated as P. major of Brehm ; but our smaller and duller bird
inhabits . the countries south of the Baltic and west of Central
Russia, as far as the northern portions of the Spanish Peninsula

i88

BULLFINCH.

and of Italy, and reaches to Naples and Sicily ; wandering occasion-
ally to other islands in the Mediterranean, and even to Algeria. In
the mountainous portions of St. Michael’s, one of the Azores, is
found a large insular species, F. murinus, the sexes of which are
nearly alike in plumage, both of them being of a dull grey without
any white on the rump ; a remarkable development, as no connect-
ing link is known in the Canaries or in Madeira.

1 he unmistakable nest of the Bullfinch is a platform of fine twigs
ot the birch, beech, fir &c., surmounted by fine roots and a little
hair woven into a shallow cup to receive the eggs. These, 4-6 in
number, are of a clear greenish-blue, speckled and streaked with
purplish-grey and dark brownish-purple, especially at the larger end :
average measurements 73 by *55 in. A white-thorn hedge, or a
fork near the extremity of a branch in some leafy tree or evergreen,
are among the sites usually selected ; and two broods are frequently
reared in the season, the first eggs being laid in the latter half of
April. The duties of incubation devolve upon the female. The
young are fed partly on insects and their larvae, and partly on
seeds softened by the parent; but later in the year I have seen both
old and young birds feeding upon the berries of the rowan-tree,
dog-rose, hawthorn &c., while the seeds of such weeds as the dock,
thistle, ragwort, groundsel, chickweed and plantain, are largely con-
sumed. It may even be doubted whether the Bullfinch’s destruc-
tiveness to buds in spring may not originate in a search for concealed
insects, but in any case it is certain that a charge of shot fired
into the tender branches of a fruit-tree does far more damage than the
depredations of the bird. The call-note is a soft diu, diu.

The adult male has the forehead, lores, throat, and head above
the eyes, glossy blue-black; mantle smoke-grey; larger wing-coverts
black, tipped with white, which forms a conspicuous bar ; quills dark
ash-colour, with narrow whitish edges to the emarginate portions
of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th ; secondaries glossy blue-black ; rump
pure white ; tail glossy blue-black ; cheeks and under parts bright
brick-red ; vent white ; bill black ; legs and feet dark brown. Length
6 in. ; wing 3 in. The female is of a browner grey on the upper
parts, and the under parts are vinous-brown. The young differ
from the female in having no black on the head, and the bar on the
wing buffish-white. An entirely black nestling, found with three
other young birds of the ordinary colour, attained after moulting the
plumage of the female.

KRINGILLIN7F..

189

THE SCARLET GROSBEAK.

Pyrrhula erythri'na (Pallas).

The Scarlet Grosbeak is an Eastern species which has noticeably
extended its range in a westerly direction of late years, and on
two occasions has been known to stray to England. The first
instance on record was that of a female, captured on the downs near
Brighton in September 1869, which subsequently lived until June
1876 in the aviary of Mr. T. J. Monk of Lewes, in whose collection it
is now preserved. On October 5th 1870, another female, now in the
collection of Mr. F. Bond, was taken near Caen Wood, Hampstead.
Other examples have probably occurred from time to time, and have
been overlooked ; for young birds or females of this species might
easily be mistaken for Greenfinches.

As a straggler, the Scarlet Grosbeak has visited South Sweden,
Sylt, Sleswick, Heligoland, Belgium, France, the south of Spain—
whence I possess a specimen, killed on November 15th 1874, and
have seen another — Italy and Malta. In North-eastern Germany it
is not uncommon on migration, and on one occasion it has been
known to nest in Silesia; but the western limits of its usual breeding-
range appear to be Finland, the Baltic Provinces of Russia, and
Poland. Eastward, it nests throughout the marshy forests of Northern
Siberia to the Pacific, and further south, in the elevated regions
of the Caucasus, Asia Minor, Turkestan, and through Central Asia

190

SCARLET GROSBEAK.

to Northern China. In winter it is very common throughout the
greater portion of the Indian region. It is rather late in returning
to its northern breeding-quarters in Europe, and near Warsaw it does
not arrive until about the middle of May ; but in the drier climate of
Siberia it is earlier.

The nest, which is rather deep, and is slenderly constructed of dry
grass-stalks with a lining of horsehair, is placed in the fork of a small
bush, generally in the neighbourhood of water. The eggs, 4-6 in
number, are of a deeper greenish-blue than those of the Bullfinch,
sparsely marked with reddish-brown and almost black spots : average
measurements 75 by *57 in. The food consists of seeds, grain and
berries, and Col. E. A. Butler says that the bird is partial to the
watery nectar in the flower of the Indian coral-tree, while Jerdon
observed it eating bamboo-seeds ; but the young are probably fed on
insects. The song, generally uttered from the top of a bush or low
tree, is a loud clear whistle, tu-whit, tu-tu-i , several times repeated
in rapid succession, whence the Hindoo name ‘Tuti.’

The adult male has the top of the head glossy carmine-red ;
mantle warm brown with a reddish tinge ; quills and tail dark brown,
with paler buffish margins ; rump and upper tail-coverts carmine-red ;
chin and throat rich rose-red ; breast rose-pink, fading to brownish
on the flanks ; bill vellowish-brown ; legs reddish-brown. Length
575 in.; wing 3'25 in. The female has no red tints, the general
colour of the upper parts being dull striated olive-brown, but the wing-
coverts and inner secondaries are much more conspicuously edged
with dirty white than in the male ; the lower parts are dull white
with a buffish tinge on the throat and breast, and numerous hair-
brown streaks from the latter to the flanks ; a brown stripe descends
from either corner of the lower mandible. The young are at
first rather greyer in tint than the female, but cock birds soon
begin to show a distinctly yellowish tinge on the ear-coverts, rump,
and outer margins of the wing- and tail-feathers. It seems probable
that the rosy hue is not assumed until after the second moult.

This species has been separated by some modern authors from
Pyrrhula, under the generic name Carpodacus of Kaup ; but the dis-
tinctions are very fine, consisting mainly in the shape of the bill
and in the smaller amount of covering to the nostrils.

FRINGH.T.INjE.

I9T

•• /

THE PINE-GROSBEAK.

Pyrrhula enucleator (Linnaeus).

The Pine-Grosbeak is, at most, an exceedingly rare visitor to the
British Islands, and although some five-and-twenty so-called ‘ occur-
rences ’ are on record, critical examination by Mr. J. H. Gurney
jun. (Zool. 1887, pp. 242-250), and Professor Newton (4th Ed.
Yarrell’s B. B.), has disposed of all but five as unworthy of belief ;
while, to my mind, few even of these sifted records are entitled to
acceptance. The specimens still existing are undoubtedly authentic,
but the unsatisfactory nature of the evidence of their having been
obtained in a wild state in this country will hardly be credited by
those who have not read Mr. Gurney’s paper. If, as he observes,
the Pine-Grosbeak were now to be installed for the first time as
a British bird, the evidence would scarcely warrant such a step ; but,
all things considered, I do not feel justified in summarily rejecting
a bird which has for so long occupied a place in our list.

Even in Heligoland, that wonderful resting-place for waifs, and
so much nearer its home, the Pine-Grosbeak has only once been
obtained ; it is a rare winter-visitor to Denmark, and its occurrences,
even in the suitable conifer-woods of North-eastern Germany,

192

PINE-GROSBEAK.

Silesia, and Poland, are irregular. Accepting the records without
criticism, it has strayed at long intervals to Belgium, France and
Southern Germany ; while, probably following the line of the moun-
tain pine-woods, a solitary example appears to have crossed the Alps
to theTrentino in the winter of 1876. Its home is principally in the
conifer region near the Arctic circle ; but sometimes, as at Pulmak
in Lapland, it extends to the birch-woods as far as 70° N. lat. ; while
eastward, the bird is plentiful in Northern Russia, across Siberia to
Kamschatka, and as far south as Lake Baikal ; as a straggler it has
also been obtained in the Kuril islands to the north of Japan. In
America it occurs throughout the Arctic and sub-Arctic forests,
migrating southward in winter to California, Colorado and the
northern portions of the Eastern States.

For a knowledge of the nesting habits and eggs of the Pine-
Grosbeak, Englishmen are indebted, as in so many other cases, to
the ardent researches of the late John Wolley, who discovered its
breeding-haunts in Lapland. The nest, similar to that of the Bull-
finch, consists externally of interlaced birch-twigs, with a lining of
fine stiff grass, and is usually placed on the horizontal branches of a
fir or a birch-tree, near the bole. The eggs are deep greenish-blue,
spotted with brownish-purple : average measurements 1 in. by 72 in.
The food consists partly of insects, but mainly of buds, birch -
catkins, seeds and various berries. The song has been described as
loud and flute-like ; the flight is undulating.

The adult male has the feathers of the head, back and rump
suffused with rich rose-red, upon a ground-colour of slate-grey ;
wings ash-brown, with broad pinkish -white tips to both sets of wing-
coverts, and white margins to the secondaries ; tail dusky-brown ;
under parts rose-red, turning to grey on the flanks and vent ; bill
dark brown, paler at the base of the lower mandible ; legs blackish-
brown. Length 8 in. ; wing 4-25 in. In the female the rose tint is
replaced by a more or less golden-yellow, except on the back, which
is slate-grey. The young have a greyish-green tinge. Mr. A. C.
Chapman found a pair of birds breeding in this greyish-green plum-
age, the male having rather more of the yellow colour than the
female ; another nest belonged to a couple of greyish-green birds ;
while at a third nest a male in full rosy plumage was paired with an
ash-grey female.

Many authors have accepted the genus Pinicola of Vieillot for
this species.

FRINGlLLlN.flv

'93

THE CROSSBILL.

Loxia curvirostra, Linnaeus.

The Crossbill is generally noticed in England from autumn to
sPr'ng> "'hen wandering about the country in family-parties which
sometimes unite to form flocks ; but numerous instances are known
in which it has remained to breed among the conifers of the
southern counties, although such situations as its habits require
are less frequent there than in the north. Across the Solway, and
northward, it nests in many districts, chiefly in the old pine-
forests ; but it does not appear to stray to the Outer Hebrides,
although it is an uncertain visitor to the Orkneys and Shetlands.
In Ireland it has occasionally bred in cos. Down, Meath, Kildare,
Wicklow and Tipperary, and occurs irregularly on migration.

194 CROSSBILL.

The Crossbill nests throughout the pine-forests of Europe, from
Lapland to Spain, the Balearic Islands, and Greece, as well as in the
Atlas Mountains of Africa ; the southern residents having noticeably
weaker bills than northern examples ; and it equally frequents the
conifer growths of Siberia as far as Kamschatka, wintering in North
China. The pine-woods of Scandinavia, Northern Russia and the
Baltic provinces are also inhabited by a large stout-billed race,
formerly distinguished as the Parrot Crossbill, Loxia pityopsit-
iacus, but now esteemed by modern authorities as merely one of
several forms which Mr. R. B. Sharpe (Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xii.
p. 439) “ does not consider to be worthy of even subspecific rank.”
I have deemed it unnecessary to give a separate figure or description
of this extreme phase, which merely differs from the type in its
varying size, and in the fact that its food consists largely of the
seeds of the Scotch fir, whereas the smaller common form also feeds
on the spruce, larch, stone-pine &c. The large-billed birds are occa-
sionally obtained in our islands and in Central Europe, but they
do not migrate far to the south. Forms slightly smaller than the
ordinary Crossbill are found in the Himalayas and Tibet, Japan,
and North America, but the highlands of Mexico produce a rather
larger race.

The nest, frequently built in February or March, is generally
placed on the horizontal branch of a fir, often close to the stem, and
is formed of tw'igs, surmounted by a cup-shaped structure of dry
grass, moss, wool and lichen, with a lining of similar but softer
materials. The eggs, usually 4, rarely 5 in number, are greyish-
white, sparsely spotted with several shades of reddish-brown ; like
those of the Greenfinch, but larger: average measurements '9 by
•66 in. ; those of the so-called Parrot-Crossbill hardly exceeding
these dimensions. In summer both young and old birds eat cater-
pillars and the larva; of insects, but later their food is obtained from
fir cones, while rowan and other berries, apple-pips and buds are
also consumed. The note is a gip, gip, chi , chi.

The adult male has most of the upper and under parts dull crim-
son, which is brightest on the rump : wings brown, with a pale bar
along the edges of the coverts ; tail brown ; bill, legs and feet dark
brown. Average length 6 ‘5 ; wing 4 in. In the female the red is
represented by greenish-orange, and her plumage is more striated,
especially before maturity. Young birds are greenish-grey, with a
little yellow' on the rump ; in the nestling stage the general colour
is ash-brown, and at three weeks old the bill is still straight, the
lower mandible shutting within the upper.

FRIXG1LLIN/E.

195

THE TWO-BARREL) CROSSBILL.

Loxia bifasciata (C. L. Brehm).

This species, sometimes called the European White-winged
Crossbill, to distinguish it from the American form, inhabits the
coniferous forests of Northern Russia and Siberia as far as the
Pacific ; wandering in autumn and winter to South Sweden, Den-
mark, Heligoland, North Germany, Holland, Belgium, the north of
France, North Italy, Austria and Poland. In our islands the first
recorded specimen was obtained near Belfast, Ireland, on May nth
1802, and in July or August 1868 a second was obtained in
co. Dublin. A few years prior to 1843 one was killed in Cornwall ;
in the autumn of 1845 a flock appeared in the neighbourhood of
Brampton in Cumberland, and ten or eleven were shot, six of them
being in female plumage ; in May 1846 two or three were killed
from a flock near Bury St. Edmund’s, Suffolk ; and about the same
time the late H. Doubleday shot a bird in his garden at Epping.
Others have been observed in various parts of the United Kingdom.

The northern forests of America, from Alaska to Labrador, are
inhabited by a bird known as the White winged Crossbill, Loxia
leacoptera, which Mr. R. B. Sharpe considers to be only entitled to
subspecific distinction ; and after examining a good many sped
mens, including those in the British Museum, I agree with him that

196

TWO-BARRED CROSSBILL.

the only difference of any moment between the European and
American forms consists in the darker scapulars of the latter; to
which I may add that the red in the male has a pinker tint, and
the bill in both sexes is weaker. A hen bird ascribed to the
American form, and still in the Strickland Collection at Cambridge,
was killed near Worcester in 1838 ; a red male was picked up dead
at Exmouth on September 17th 1845 > and a female, which lived in
Mr. Stevenson’s aviary at Norwich till December 1874, was stated
by the dealer of whom it was purchased by Mr. J. H. Gurney jun.
in 1872, to have been captured — it is not said where — on the rig-
ging of the presumably American vessel “ Beecher Stowe,” which
arrived at Great Yarmouth in October 1870. Even in Greenland
only five occurrences are on record during nearly sixty years ; it has
not been known to visit Iceland or the Faeroes ; and I have Mr.
Gatke’s authority for stating that it has never been obtained on
Heligoland. It is notorious that American White-winged Crossbills,
captured at sea comparatively near their own coast, have been
brought to the British Islands, and have then escaped or been let
loose ; and I do not consider that the species has a claim to a place
in the British list.

A nest of the Two-barred Crossbill sent to Mr. Dresser, with the
parent birds, from the Archangel district, is described as rather
smaller and slighter than that of the common Crossbill, while the
eggs are somewhat darker in colour and less in size. In food and
habits this bird resembles its congener, but its song being of a
superior quality, it is a greater favourite as a cage-bird.

Adult male : head, neck, mantle and rump carmine-red, slightly
mottled, owing to the protrusion of the black bases of the feathers ;
wings black, with white tips to the inner secondaries, and broad
pinkish-white edges to the greater and median wing-coverts ;
tail-feathers brownish-black, narrowly edged with reddish-white ;
under parts carmine-red, which fades into white on the belly ; bill
horn-colour, lighter on the lower mandible ; legs dull brown.
Length 6 '25 in. ; wing 37 in. In less mature birds the pink tinge
on the wing-bands is wanting, and the flanks are striated, bemale :
upper parts greenish-grey, with a yellow tint, and dusky-brown
streaks ; rump pale yellow ; under parts greyish-yellow, paler on
the throat and abdomen, and streaked with dusky-brown. Young
bird in August : much striated on a greyish ground, with hardly any
trace of yellow ; white upper wing-bar very narrow ; quills and tail-
feathers distinctly margined with greenish-white.

EMRERIZIX/K.

197

BLACK-HEADED BUNTING.

Emberi'za mf.lanocephala, Scopoli.

The Black-headed Bunting — not to be confounded with our com-
mon Reed-Bunting, which is sometimes called by this name — is an
inhabitant of the south-eastern portions of Europe ; but from time to
time it wanders in a westerly direction, and, owing to the increased
attention now paid to ornithology, its presence has already been
detected on three occasions in Great Britain. The first example,
an adult female, identified by the late Mr. Gould, and now in
the collection of Mr. T. J. Monk of Lewes, was shot near Brighton
while following a flock of Yellow Buntings, about November 3rd
1868. The Rev. J. R. Ashworth has recorded (Zool. 1886, p. 73),
the acquisition of an identified specimen in June or July 1884,
stated to have been shot in Nottinghamshire. The third example
was said by the dealer from whom it was purchased to have been
captured alive near Dunfermline about November 5th 1886, and
was recognized by the Rev. H. A. Macpherson at the Bird Show
of February 15th 1887, held at the Crystal Palace (Zool. 1887,
•P- I93)> where I saw it again in the present year (1888), when in
nearly adult male plumage. The fact that the females and young
are dull-coloured birds, not likely to be imported, favours the
assumption that these histories are substantially correct.

On Heligoland the Black-headed Bunting has been obtained, as
Mr. Giitke informs me, upwards of fifteen times— in May and June,
and also in September and October ; but, strange to say, I do not
find it recorded from Northern Germany, although it sometimes

198

BLACK-HEADED BUNTING.

visits Austria. It lias also occurred near Marseilles, and along the
Riviera to Liguria ; while in Verona and along the east side of Italy
it is, naturally, not uncommon, inasmuch as it breeds abundantly in
Dalmatia, on the further side of the Adriatic. To Sicily and Malta
it is only a rare visitor, nor does it cross the Mediterranean to Africa.
In Greece, Turkey, the Danubian Provinces, Southern Russia, Asia
Minor, Palestine, and Northern Persia, it is common from the
end of April to autumn, after which it leaves for its winter-quarters
in North-western and Central India, where immense flocks are
found during the cold season.

The Black-headed Bunting seldom ascends the mountains to any
great elevation, preferring the flat ground planted with vines, olive-
trees, pomegranates &c., near the sea-shore. The nest is generally
in climbing plants, rose-bushes or brambles, and, in Turkey, often
among peas, which are allowed by the gardeners to stand until
the young are fledged. It is rather loosely constructed of the
stalks of small flowering plants, with a lining of dry grass, roots and
hair. The eggs — different in appearance to those of any other
European Bunting — are pale greenish-blue, speckled with ash-brown,
and are 4-6 in number : average measurements '85 by 7 in. In
summer both young and old feed on grasshoppers and other insects,
and on fruit ; but in India, during autumn and winter, considerable
havoc is made in fields of grain. Canon Tristram says that this
bird has nothing of the Bunting in its habits or character, whereas
Mr. Seebohm asserts that in its habits and song it is a typical
Bunting ! The call-note of the male is a vibrating monotonous
(hiririri.

The adult male has the head and ear-coverts black ; back and
rump orange-brown ; wings hair-brown, with dull whitish margins to
the coverts and secondaries : tail hair-brown, with a narrow white
streak to the inner web of the outer pair of feathers ; under parts
and sides of the neck bright gamboge-yellow ; bill greyish horn-
colour ; legs and feet pale brown. Length 675; wing 37 in.
After the autumn moult the bright tints, although perceptible at the
bases of the feathers, are obscured by the new dull brown edges.
The female is sandy-brown on the upper parts, with darker stria-
tions on the head and back, and buffish-white margins to the wing-
coverts and quills ; rump slightly tinged with yellow ; tail-feathers
hair-brown with paler margins ; throat and belly dull white ; breast
and flanks sandy-buff with narrow brown streaks : under tail-coverts
pale yellow. The young resemble the female.

EMBERJ2IN/K.

1 99

THE CORN-BUNTING.

Embkriza miliaria, Linnaeus.

This species is frequently called the Bunting-Lark, and by many
authors it has been styled the Common Bunting ; but the use of the
latter name is hardly to be encouraged, as the bird, although widely
distributed throughout the British Islands, is decidedly local and
not nearly so common as the Yellow Bunting. It is principally to
be found where grain of some kind is grown, and when arable
land is turned into grazing-ground the Corn-Bunting becomes scarce,
or even disappears. Low lands and the vicinity of the sea are the
districts most affected in Scotland and its islands, where it ranges as
far west as St. Kilda ; while northward it is found breeding on the
Shetlands, although not yet obtained in the Faeroes. In Ireland it
is common in suitable districts, but local. In autumn our home-
bred birds become gregarious, and to a certain extent migrants ;
at the same time considerable accessions are made to their
numbers, especially on our east coasts, by visitors from the Con-
tinent.

In Scandinavia the Corn-Bunting is only known in the extreme
south ; but from Denmark and the hither side of the Baltic it is
generally distributed over the open portions of Europe in summer,
though in winter it is partially migratory in the northern and
central districts. In the Spanish Peninsula and other great corn-
producing countries of the south, as well as in North Africa and the
Canaries, it is resident and extremely numerous ; it is also found in

200

CORN-BUNTING.

Palestine, Asia Minor, Persia and Western Turkestan ; and in winter
as far south as Nubia, Arabia Petrsea, Bushire and Sind. In all
forest and mountain regions it is practically unknown.

The Corn-Bunting is a late breeder, and in this country it is use-
less to search for its eggs before the latter part of May. The nest
may sometimes be found in rough herbage, or at the foot of a low
shrub, but it is generally placed well towards the middle of a field
of clover or pease, or under a clod among young corn ; and some
umbelliferous plant, sufficiently strong to afford a perch for the bird,
will probably be at no great distance from it. Straw, a little moss,
roots and dry grass, with hair for a lining, are the materials em-
ployed to form the somewhat loose structure ; the eggs, 4-5 in
number, are of a dull purplish-white, or sometimes of an ochreous
ground-colour, blotched and streaked with dark purple-brown :
average measurements ’98 in. by 7 in. The hen sits closely, whilst
the male utters his harsh and monotonous tic-tic-teese on a perch,
which varies in elevation from the top of some tall tree or a hedge-
row to a clod in the fallows. The flight is heavy and laboured, the
legs of the bird hanging down at first, as if broken. The young
are fed on insects ; the adults have been seen to eat cockchafers,
and they undoubtedly devour numbers of small beetles ; but in
autumn and winter grain is largely consumed, and the birds become
so fat that, in the south of Europe, they are much in request for
the table. Many are taken in nets, together with Larks, owing to
their habit of roosting on the ground, and Mr. Booth says that
near Shoreham numbers resort in the evening to the beds of marine
weeds which grow on the mud-flats above high-water mark.

Adult male : lores, and a line above and behind the eye buffish-
white ; ear-patches, head, neck, mantle and upper tail-coverts pale
hair-brown, streaked with darker brown down the middle of each
feather ; wing-coverts dark brown with buff margins ; quills dusky-
brown ; tail rather lighter brown with pale margins ; throat buffish-
white, with brown spots at the side which form a moustache-like streak ;
remaining under parts buffish-white, freely spotted on the breast and
streaked on the flanks with brown ; bill yellowish-brown, with a dark
stripe along the ridge of the upper mandible ; legs pale flesh-colour.
Length 7 in. ; wing 3-6 in. The sexes are alike in plumage. The
young bird is darker, with broad fulvous margins to the wing-coverts
and secondaries, and the under parts are tinged with buff. Some
Continental specimens — especially those from the east — are very pale
in colour ; while albinistic varieties are not uncommon.

EMBERIZIN/E.

201

THE YELLOW BUNTING.

Embertza citrinelea, T Annaeus.

The Yellow Bunting is familiarly known as the Yellow Hammer,
the latter portion of the name having, no doubt, a common origin
with ‘ Ammer,’ the modern German word for a Bunting ; but our
form of spelling has now been in print for upwards of two cen-
turies, and few, even among purists, will risk the imputation of a
solecism by omitting the aspirate. Throughout the British Islands
this handsome bird is in most parts common and resident ; it
even nests in the Outer Hebrides, and sparingly in the Orkneys,
but as yet is not known to do so in the Shetlands, although a
visitor to that group.

In Norway this species is found breeding up to about 70° N. lat.,
but as we proceed eastward, its northerly summer-range gradually
decreases to only 64° on the Ob, in Siberia. South-eastward, it
reaches as far as the upper valley of the Yenesei; while, turning south-
westward, we find the bird in Turkestan, Persia and Asia Minor.
In temperate Europe it is generally distributed, and, except in the
northern districts, is resident ; but its breeding- range does not appear
to extend south of the Pyrenees and Cantabrian Mountains, and the
northern portions of Italy; while, even in winter, the bird is almost
unknown in the islands of the Mediterranean, in Southern Italy,
and the South-west of Spain, though said to occur in the Canaries.
In Palestine, according to Canon Tristram, its place is taken by a
very distinct species, E. aesia, which occasionally wanders to Heli-

202

YELLOW BUNTING.

golancl ; where, by the way, the Yellow Bunting is common on
migration in spring and autumn.

1 he nest, somewhat slightly made of dry grasses and a little
moss, with a lining of finer material and hair, is usually placed on
or near the ground, in the side of a bank, or among tangled herb-
age, but sometimes it is built in a bush, and in the north often

in young spruce plantations ; exceptionally at an height of seven
feet. The well-known eggs, 4-5 in number, are subject to con-
siderable variation in shade of colour, but as a rule they are

purplish-white, streaked, spotted and clouded with reddish-purple,
and scrolled with long hair-like markings, from which, in some parts,
the bird has acquired the name of ‘ Writing-lark’ : average measure-
ments -85 by '63 in. Incubation, in which the male takes part,
lasts fourteen days, and at least two broods are produced in the year ;
the first eggs being laid about the middle of April, while nestlings
are not unfrequent in September. The familiar song, often ren-
dered as “ Little-bit-of-bread-and no cheese,” may be heard from
morning till night during the hottest weather, and even on a bright
day in winter. In summer both young and old feed largely on
insects ; in autumn they are partial to blackberries and other wild
fruits ; while seeds and grain form their principal sustenance in
winter, at which season large flocks frequent stubble-fields and even
farm-yards. In severe weather Mr. Booth observed a flock feeding
on the carcase of a horse hung up at some kennels, in Perthshire.

Adult male : head and throat bright lemon-yellow, spotted and
streaked with dusky-brown ; mantle reddish-brown with blackish
streaks ; quills dusky-brown with narrow yellowish margins ; rump
and tail-coverts chestnut ; tail-feathers chiefly dark brown, with
elongated white patches on the two outer pairs ; under parts lemon-
yellow, with dusky chestnut streaks on the breast and flanks ; bill
bluish ; legs light brown. Length 6-5 in. ; wing 3-25 in. In autumn
the colours are duller, owing to the pale margins of the new
feathers. The female is less yellow and more streaked with greyish-
brown, while the chestnut-brown tints are nearly absent. The young
show no yellow until after their first moult.

EMBER IZIN7E.

203

THE CTRL BUNTING.

Emberiza cirlus, Linnceus.

The Cirl Bunting is a resident southern species, which was added
to the British list by Montagu, who found it breeding in Devonshire.
Subsequent observations have considerably extended our acquaint-
ance with its range, and the bird is now known to be fairly common,
although very local, from Cornwall to Kent, and along the valleys
of the Thames and its tributaries up to Gloucestershire ; also on
the chalk-hills of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, especially in the
neighbourhood of Tring. Mr. Booth obtained two by chance in
Norfolk in the autumn of 1875 ; in Northamptonshire and the Mid-
land counties it is of accidental occurrence, and to Yorkshire it is
a rare visitor; while in Durham, Northumberland and Cumberland
it is unknown, though it has strayed to Lancashire. It has been
found breeding in Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and
Salop ; but it was, I believe, unknown in Wales until Mr. E. C.
Phillips obtained a male on 15th March x 888, near Brecon. In
Scotland, at long intervals, three stragglers have been taken ; one
near Edinburgh, one in Aberdeenshire, and one in Roxburghshire.
Mr. A. G. More classes it among the species erroneously included
in the. Irish list.

The Cirl Bunting has only twice been obtained (in spring) on

204

CIRL BUNTING.

Heligoland, and is of rare occurrence in Holland and Belgium. In
summer it is found from France on the west to Bohemia on the
east ; while southward, it is resident from the Spanish Peninsula to
Greece, Southern Russia, Turkey, Asia Minor, and the islands of
the Mediterranean ; it is also found on the northern slopes of the
Atlas Mountains in Africa. No other European Bunting has nearly
so restricted a range.

The nest, similar to that of the Yellow Bunting, but often con-
taining rather more moss, is placed in a bank among the stems
of a hazel or other bush, though sometimes in furze or juniper at a
little distance from the ground. The eggs, 4-5 in number, are
purplish-grey with almost black markings, bolder, as a rule, than
on those of the preceding species and with fewer hair-lines : average
measurements '86 by ’64 in. The first clutch is laid in May, the
second in July ; and on the chalk-hills of Surrey, where the bird is
not uncommon, I have found that the Cuckoo is rather partial to its
nest. The young are fed chiefly on grasshoppers and other insects ;
but later, principally on grass seeds and grain ; and in the south of
France during snowy winter weather I have seen small flocks feed-
ing, along with Sparrows and other Finches, on the refuse in the
streets. Although unobtrusive and inconspicuous, my experience is
that it is anything but a shy bird ; on the contrary it will at all seasons
allow a very near approach and close inspection, and even when
disturbed it does not fly far. The note is like that of the Yellow
Bunting, but without the “ no cheese,” and, if long drawn out, is
nearly expressed by the French name for the bird, * zizi.’ In the
bright climate of the south the song may be heard throughout the
greater part of the year, except when the bird is actually moulting.

The adult male has a lemon-yellow streak from the forehead over
each eye ; lores and ear-coverts black ; crown and nape olive
streaked with black ; upper wing-coverts greenish-grey ; mantle and
secondaries more distinctly chestnut-brown, and rump decidedly less
rufous than in the Yellow Bunting ; quills and tail-feathers about
the same as in that species ; throat black, followed by a pale sulphur-
coloured collar, below which is an olive-grey band succeeded by
chestnut-brown stripes that run down the flank ; belly sulphur-yellow ;
bill dark horn above, bluish below; legs yellowish. Length 6 ‘5 in. ;
wing 3’25 in. The female has the throat pale buff and hardly any
yellow on the breast and under parts, which are streaked with dark
brown ; upper parts less rufous than in the male. The young are
rather duller than the female.

EMBKR1ZIN/E.

205

THE ORTOLAN.

Emberiza hortulana, Linnteus.

This Bunting was first described as a visitor to England from a bird
taken alive in Mary-le-bone Fields, a little before 1776 ; which, with
another specimen caught on board a collier off the Yorkshire coast
in May 1822, is now in the Museum of Newcastle-on-Tyne. In
November 1827, a male was killed near Manchester. In Sussex
four or five examples have been taken in spring and autumn since
1841 ; and an immature bird was killed in the Scilly Islands early in
October 1.851. Several have been captured near London since
1837, but from that time onwards such increasingly large numbers of
Ortolans have been annually imported from the Continent that
occurrences in the home-counties are open to suspicion. In June,
a few years ago, I saw an adult male in Hyde Park Street, which
had undoubtedly escaped from a neighbouring poulterer’s, where at
the time there were cages full of these birds. One was killed on
Lowestoft Denes in May 1859; and Mr. F. D. Power shot an im-
mature male from among some Linnets, at Cley, Norfolk, on Sep-
tember 1 2th 1884, about the time that enormous numbers were seen
on Heligoland. On May 3rd 1883, Mr. J. Cordeaux watched with
his binoculars a female feeding on the scattered grain in a newly-

206

ORTOLAN.

sown oatfield on the Lincolnshire side of the Humber. In Scotland
two examples were obtained in November 1863, near Aberdeen.
Mr. A. G. More states that in the Museum of Science and Art,
Dublin, there is a specimen said to have been taken in co. Clare
previous to May 1852.

I he Ortolan is found in summer as far north as the Arctic
circle in Scandinavia ; but eastward, its northerly range gradually
recedes to about 570 N. lat. in Russia. South of the Baltic it is
irregularly distributed throughout Europe, and, although extremely
local, it is common at no greater distance from this country than
some districts in the north of France, Flanders, Dutch Brabant &c.
Even in the south of Europe, where it is rather partial to low
bushes on stony hill-sides, it is only a summer-visitor; and in
Northern Africa, where it breeds in comparatively small numbers, it
does not remain for the winter, but migrates southwards as far as
Abyssinia. In Palestine, Asia Minor, Persia, Turkestan, and Siberia
as far as the valley of the Irtish, it only passes the summer, visiting
North-western India during the cold season. I have known the
Ortolan arrive on the trench side of the Pyrenees as early as
March 23rd ; the return migration begins in August.

The nest, built in the latter half of May, of dry grass and roots
with a lining of fine bents and hair, is always on the ground, and
generally in open fields, though sometimes among coarse herbage
or under small bushes. I he eggs, 4-6 in number, are pale purplish-
grey, distinctly spotted and very little scrolled with purple and
black : average measurements -8 by -62 in. The food consists of
beetles and other insects as much as of seeds, but in confinement
the bird feeds greedily upon oats and millet, until it attains the
fatness which is proverbial. The note, which is rather metallic,
may be syllabled as tsee-ah, tsee-ah, tsee-a/i , tyur.

Adult male : head and nape greenish-grey with faint yellow
streaks from the forehead to below the ear-coverts ; back, wing-
coverts and secondaries fulvous-brown, with dark stripes down the
centre of the feathers ; rump reddish-brown ; tail-feathers brown,
with oblong patches of white on the three outer pairs ; throat
sulphur-yellow ; pectoral band olive-grey ; lower breast, belly and
under tail-coverts pale chestnut ; bill reddish-brown ; legs brownish-
orange. Length 6 in. ; wing 3-25 in. In less mature males the
rump is dull striated brown, there is no white on the third inner pair
of tail-feathers, and the under parts are paler. The female has the
head greener and more streaked; upper parts duller; gorget yel-
lowish-buff streaked with brown ; under parts yellowish-buff.

EMBERIZIN.-E.

207

THE RUSTIC BUNTING.

Emberiza rustica, Pallas.

The first example of the Rustic Bunting known to have occurred
in England was caught near Brighton, on October 23rd 1867, and
was shown alive to the late Mr. G. D. Rowley : it is now in the
collection of Mr. T. J. Monk of Lewes. A second, identified and
recorded by Mr. YV. E. Clarke (Zool. 1881, p. 465), and exhibited at
a meeting of the Zoological Society, was shot on the Holderness
coast, Yorkshire, on September 17th 1881, the same day on which
a young bird of this species was obtained at Heligoland by Mr.
Gatke. Lord Lilford states (Zool. 1883, p. 33) that a young male
was sent to him in the flesh, which had been taken by a bird-catcher
at Elstree reservoir, near London, on November 19th 1882.

The Rustic Bunting is an eastern species which is gradually
extending its range westward, and is now known to wander to
Sweden and to occur annually in East Finland. Mr Gatke informs
me that he possesses eight specimens taken on Heligoland, while
more have been obtained there ; and stragglers have occurred from
time to time in Germany, Austria, the south of France, the
north of Italy, and once near Constantinople. From Archangel
eastward it ranges across Siberia to Kainschatka ; Dr. von Midden-
dorff found it paired and apparently nesting in the Stanovoi Moun-
tains ; southward, it is abundant on passage in Mongolia; and,
according to Captain Blakiston, it is common in the southern part
of the main island of Japan in winter, and at Yeso in summer. In
the cold season it is found in China as far south as Shanghai ; and

2oS

RUSTIC HUNTING.

it is supposed to breed in the mountainous regions to the north of
Mongolia, and in Turkestan, as well as in Northern Siberia. In
Western Siberia it appears to be very local.

Nothing is really known of the nesting habits of this Bunting ; and
although Mr. Dresser has described a nest and eggs sent to him from
Archangel, staled to belong to this species, while Mr. Seebohm has
figured two eggs— unlike each other— from the Altai and Archangel
respectively, none of them are really authenticated. The bird arrives
in Northern Russia about the beginning of May, and frequents the
open portions of ’swampy fir-woods, where it is supposed to breed,
as in such situations Herr Meves met with two broods in July.
1 he young are said to feed upon oats and other grain. The song
is described by Dr. von Middendorff as rich and melodious, while
the call-note is a sharp cry, not unlike that of the Redwing.

Adult male in breeding-plumage : crown of the head, lores and
ear-patches black ; above and behind each eye a broad white stripe,
and a small patch of the same colour on the nape ; mantle, upper
wing-coverts and rump chestnut-brown, with some blackish streaks
on the upper back ; greater and middle wing-coverts broadly tipped
with white, which forms two conspicuous bars ; secondaries with dark
brown centres and reddish-buff margins ; quills ash-brown ; tail-
feathers chiefly dark brown, but the exterior pair with the greater
part of their webs white, and the second pair with a long white
streak from near the base to the tip of the inner web ; throat and
belly white ; breast broadly banded with chestnut, and flanks streaked
with the same; bill dark brown above, yellowish below; legs pink-
ish-yellow. Length 5-4 in.; wing 3-2 in. In the female the head
and ear-patches are brownish, mottled with black, and the chestnut
tints on the back and chest are less pronounced. The young bird
in August has the upper parts warm tawny-brown with blackish
streaks; under parts dull white, streaked with dark brown, and
suffused with rufous-buff, with a faint chestnut tinge on the breast
and flanks.

EMBERIZIN/E.

209.

THE LITTLE BUNTING.

. \ *

Emberiza pusIlla, Pallas.

The only British example yet recorded of this smallest of
European Buntings was brought, on November 2nd 1864, to the late
Mr. Swaysland of Brighton, and was identified alive by the late Mr.
G. D. Rowley. It was subsequently exhibited before the Zoological
Society, and now forms part of Mr. T. J. Monk’s fine collection
of Sussex birds. Others have probably occurred and been over-
looked.

The Little Bunting has only once been obtained in Sweden,
namely near Lund, on the spring migration of 1815 ; at long intervals
four or five specimens have been taken in Holland in autumn; and
on Heligoland, as Mr. Giitke informs me, more than thirty have been
captured, chiefly in September and October In the south-east of
France it is said to occur almost every autumn, and along the
Riviera to Liguria and Northern Italy it is not very uncommon on
passage ; while stray examples have been obtained in Germany, Austria,
the neighbourhood of Constantinople, Smyrna and Beyrout, as well as
twice in Algeria. In summer it is found in Northern Russia as far
west as Onega ; and from Archangel and the valley of the Dwina
eastward it is abundant, crossing Siberia to the Pacific, and reaching
as far as the mountains beyond Lake Baikal, and the Amoor district.
In winter it visits China, Burma, the Andaman Islands, and India
generally.

Mr. Seebohm, who found the Little Bunting extremely abundant

2 IO

LITTLE BUNTING.

in the valley of the Yenesei from June ist onwards, before the snow
had sufficiently melted to make the forest penetrable, discovered the
first nest on the 23rd of that month. He was scrambling amongst
the tangled underwood and fallen tree-trunks on the south bank of
the Kuraika, a tributary of the Yenesei, when a Little Bunting started
from the grass at his feet and flitted from branch to branch at a
short distance. He soon found the nest, which was nothing but
a hole made in the dead leaves, moss and grass, carefully lined with
fine dry bents, and containing 5 eggs; two other nests afterwards
obtained were lined with reindeer-hair, and contained respectively
5 and 6. Those of the first clutch are described as almost exact
miniatures of Corn-Bunting’s eggs ; being of a pale grey ground-
colour, with bold twisted blotches and irregular spots of very dark
grey, and equally large underlying shell-markings of paler grey ; the
others were redder or browner in ground-colour : average measure-
ments -63 by -56 in. In every instance the bird was remarkably
tame ; thotigh in winter Mr. Davison found it excessively wild in
Tenasserim, when in flocks; in summer it appears to be partial to
the younger woods composed of a mixture of pines, firs, alders and
birches. All travellers, who have had the opportunity of observing
it, describe its song as low and sweet, more like that of a Warbler
than of a Bunting, while the call-note resembles the words tick ,
tick, tick. The food consists of insects in summer and of seeds in
winter.

The adult male in breeding-plumage has the crown and sides of the
head chestnut, with a broad black stripe from above each eye to the
nape, behind which is a dull whitish collar; mantle and rump reddish-
brown with blackish streaks ; wing-coverts brown, tipped with buffish-
white ; quills ash-brown ; tail-feathers the same, with longitudinal
white patches on the two outer pairs ; chin and throat pale chestnut ;
upper breast and flanks white, thickly streaked with black ; belly
white ; bill horn-brown ; legs pale brown. Length 5 in. ; wing
275 in. In the female the black on the head is duller, and the
chestnut paler. In the young bird the central stripe on the crown
is buff, and the two side stripes are reddish-brown with dark streaks ;
the secondaries are broadly edged with rufous-brown, and the under
parts are more streaked and mottled with black.

KMBERIZIN/E.

2 1 1

THE REED-BUNTING.

Embebiza schceniclus, Linnaeus.

I his bird is often called the Reed-Sparrow, and unfortunately
has also, been known as the Black-headed Bunting, which has led
to a confusion with the totally different species already described
(p. 197). It is resident and generally distributed throughout Great
Brit'ain and Ireland, breeding sparingly even in the Outer Hebrides
and the Orkneys, though only an occasional visitor to the Shet-
lands. In summer it frequents damp spots, whether on the
banks of sluggish streams bordered by alders, osiers and sedge, or
rush-grown places on swampy moorlands. In winter, however, it
sometimes assembles in flocks, and Mr. Booth has found from forty
to fifty birds roosting on patches of reeds by small marsh dykes; at
that season also it often shifts its haunts, in search of food, to places
at some distance from water. In autumn large numbers cross the
North Sea from the Continent and visit our east coast, while a
similar migration has been noticed on the shores of Ireland.

The Reed-Bunting inhabits suitable localities in Europe from the
vicinity of the North Cape to the Mediterranean, though in the
northern portions it is partially migratory, quantities crossing Heligo-
land ; in Spain and the extreme south, however, it is most abundant
during the winter, and comparatively few remain to breed. It occurs
in North-western Africa, yet in the North-east and in Egypt it is
decidedly uncommon, and to Asia Minor it is only a winter-visitor.
Eastward, it is found across Siberia to Kamschatka ; but South-

212

REED-BUNTING.

eastern Siberia, Mongolia and China are inhabited by a smaller
race, with the black and white colours intensified, which has been
called E. passerina. In Southern Spain, Southern Italy and Sicily,
we find a resident form with a larger bill, which has received the
name of E. palustris ; while further east, from Astrachan to Turkes-
tan and Yarkand, a bird with a still larger bill, and also paler in
colour, is distinguished as E. pyrrhulo'ides. Few authors agree as to
the nomenclature of these supposed species, or where the lines of
distinction between them are to be drawn ; nevertheless Mr. R. B.
Sharpe (Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xii. p. 473) has placed the two last
with a Japanese form in a separate genus, Pyrrhulorhyncha, which
Professor Giglioli invented as long ago as 1865, and fondly hoped
was forgotten !

The nest, commenced in the latter part of April, is usually placed
upon the ground, at the foot of a tuft of rushes or of the stems of
young willows and shrubs ; frequently in herbage on the side of
a bank ; occasionally it has been found on young spruce-firs or
on bunches of reeds, at varying elevations. The materials employed
are dry grass, moss and withered flags for the exterior, with bents,
hair and the feathery tops of reeds for the lining. The eggs, 4-6 in
number, are purplish-grey — sometimes with a huffish tinge boldly
spotted and streaked with darker purple-brown : average measure-
ments '77 by ‘59 in. Two, and occasionally three broods are reared
in the season. The hen sits very close, and both she and the male
feign lameness and practise other devices to divert attention from
the brood. In summer the food consists of insects, such as cater-
pillars and small white moths, also of small fresh-water crustaceans
and molluscs ; later in the year seeds and grain are consumed. The
song of the male is loud and stammering, ending with a long-drawn
zississ ; the call-note resembles the word tschec.

The adult male has the head and throat deep black ; from the
base of the bill a moustache-like white line connects the collar and
breast of the same colour ; mantle, wing-coverts and secondaries
warm reddish-brown, with dark centres to the feathers ; quills dull
brown; tail-feathers blackish, with oblique white patches on the two
outer pairs; flanks dusky, streaked with brown ; bill and legs dull
brown. Length nearly 6 in. ; wing 3 in. In autumn the black on
the head and throat is obscured by the buffish-brown tips ot the
feathers. The female is rather smaller and much duller in colour,
and has a reddish-brown head writh darker streaks, while the eje
stripe is buffish-white. The young resemble the female.

EMBERIZIN/E.

213

THE LAPLAND BUNTING.

CalcArjus eapp6nicus (Linnaeus).

The Lapland Bunting was first recognized as a visitor to our
islands by Selby, early in 1826, when one was sent up from Cam-
bridgeshire with some Larks to Leadenhall Market. Subsequently,
at long intervals, six or seven examples have been obtained near
London, four in Lancashire, one in Westmoreland, one in Durham,
one near Whitby on the spring migration, three in Lincolnshire, five
— all males — in Norfolk, two near Shrewsbury, and a good many on
the coasts of Kent and Sussex, but as yet the bird has not reached
Cornwall. On the whole, some forty specimens have been taken in
England ; many of them alive, associating with Larks, and almost
all on the autumn migration. In Scotland two are said to have been
obtained, in Caithness. In Ireland this species was unknown, until
Mr. Barrington received a female, found dead at the foot of the
light-house on the Fastnet Rock, on October 1 6th 1887.

In summer the Lapland Bunting inhabits the greater part of the
circumpolar regions, with the exception of Iceland — to which it is
only an occasional straggler from Greenland — and Spitsbergen and

2J4

LAPLAND BUNTING.

Novaya Zemlya, whence it has not yet been recorded. It is only at
considerable elevations, such as the Dovre-fjeld in Norway, that it is
found breeding to the south of the Arctic circle ; but east of the
North Cape it is common in Lapland, while in Northern Siberia it
is extremely abundant, being, according to Mr. Seebohm, not only the
commonest but also the most widely-distributed bird on the tundras.
In Asia it migrates further southwards than in Europe, reaching to
about 30° N. lat. in China ; whereas it is rare in the south of Russia
and in Northern Italy, and as yet unknown in Spain. In Cen-
tral Europe its occurrences are accidental, but further north they are
naturally more frequent, and are regular on Heligoland in autumn.
In America this species breeds throughout the far north ; wintering
in South Carolina, Kansas and Colorado.

Swampy moorlands — beyond the limit of forest growth — with
their tussocks of grass and stunted willows or birches, are the
favourite summer-haunts of the Lapland Bunting, but occasionally it
inhabits dry and bushy spots. The nest, built early in June, is placed
in a hollow of some little mound or grass-clump, and is made of
dry bents and roots, with a thick lining of feathers, which at once
serves to distinguish it from those of the Red-throated Pipit and
other birds frequenting such localities. The eggs, 4-6 in number,
are pale greyish- or reddish-brown, spotted, blotched and slightly
scrolled with darker shades of brown: average measurements ’8r by
•58 in. I he song of the male is generally uttered on the wing; the
bird rising from his perch on some low bush, and hovering above it,
like a Tree-Pipit ; but all song ceases as soon as the young are
hatched. The food consists of insects as well as seeds in summer,
and of the latter, with maggots & c., in winter.

The adult male in summer has the crown black ; a broad white
streak extending backwards over each eye down the sides of the
neck ; hind neck broadly banded with bright chestnut ; back, rump,
wing-coverts and secondaries tawny-brown, with blackish centres and
paler margins to most of the feathers ; quills dull brown ; tail-
feathers dark brown, with long white patches on the inner webs of
the two outer pairs ; throat, cheeks, and breast deep black ; remain-
ing under parts white, with broad black streaks on the flanks ; bill
yellow, with the point black ; legs black ; hind claw nearly straight,
and longer than the toe. Length 6 ‘25 in. ; wing 3 '6 in. The female
has the crown, ear-coverts and chestnut collar streaked with brown
and black; the upper parts are paler ; throat white, with an irregular
blackish gorget. The young bird is still duller in colour. In winter
both sexes have pale rufous margins to the upper feathers.

EM BER1Z1 N/E.

215

THE SNOW-BUNTING.

Plectrophenax nivaijs (Linnaeus).

The Snow-Bunting is principally a cold-weather visitor to the
British Islands, seldom making its appearance on the east coast of
England until October, and generally returning northwards in March
or April. For more than a century, however, paired birds have
been noticed from time to time on several of the higher mountains
of the Scottish mainland, and there could be no reasonable doubt
that they were breeding ; though absolute proof was wanting, until,
in July 1886, Messrs. Peach and Hinxman discovered the nest
and young in Sutherlandshire. In Unst, the most northern of the
Shetlands, Saxby, who had frequently observed the birds in summer,
obtained a nest with three eggs on July 2nd 1861, and others have
since been taken in Yell.

In the Faeroes a considerable number of Snow-Buntings remain
to breed, and in winter the species is abundant there, as it is in
Iceland throughout the year ; while northward, Col. H. W. Feilden
found it nesting on Grinell Land in 82° 33', nearly as far as man has
penetrated. In Spitsbergen, Novaya Zemlya, Siberia, and the Arctic
regions generally, it is widely distributed in summer ; migrating
southwards in winter down to Georgia in North America, Japan,
Northern China, Turkestan, South Russia, the northern shores of

2x6

SNOW-BUNTING.

the Mediterranean, Malta, langier in Morocco, and occasionally to
the Azores. In the northern portions of Europe it is of annual
occurrence, but its visits to the south are exceptional.

Near the southern extremity of its breeding-range the Snow-
bunting builds on the rugged sides of mountains, but in the Shet-
lands, Fxeroes, and the high north the nest is often but little above
sea level; generally in some crevice behind rocks and boulders, or
among the piles of drift-wood which fringe the shores of the Arctic
Sea. It is formed of dry grass and moss, with a lining of a few hairs
and a good many feathers — especially those of the Ptarmigan ;
the eggs, 4-6 in number, are greyish-white, spotted and blotched
with brownish-red and purplish-black : average measurements ‘86 by
'62 in. While the female is sitting the male utters a low and melo-
dious warble, often hovering in the air; the call-note is a long-
drawn tsee. In summer both young and old feed principally on
insects, but in autumn and winter they live on seeds, and do some
damage to newly-sown corn. On the ground the Snow-Bunting runs
with rapidity, but it also hops, and has frequently been observed
to perch on trees.

The adult male in breeding-plumage has the mantle, scapulars,
inner secondaries, terminal part of primaries, and the six central
tail-feathers, black ; the rest of the plumage mostly white ; bill, legs
and feet black ; hind claw shorter than its toe. Length 6*55 in. ; wing
4'4 in. In the female the head and neck are mottled with greyish-
black ; the upper parts are greyish-black, except the secondaries,
which are chiefly white. In autumn the bird, as figured, has the
feathers of the upper parts broadly edged with dull chestnut ; bill
yellow with black tip : in this state it has been called the ‘ Tawny
Bunting.’ In winter the chestnut margins gradually become white.
The young bird is greyish-brown, with darker spots on both upper
and under parts ; a specimen is figured in Messrs. Harvie-Brown
and Buckley’s ‘ Fauna of Sutherland See.’

Icterid/E. — Males of the introduced American Red-winged
Starling, Agelceus phoenueus , have been captured in this country,
but it is significant that the females, which are dull-coloured and
therefore seldom imported, have never been taken ! Attempts have
been made to swell the British list by including in it escaped
examples of the American Meadow-Starling, Sturnella magna ; the
American •Rwtio Crackle, Scolecophagus ferrugineus ; and the Indian
Mynah, Gracula religiosa.

ST URN I D/E.

217

THE STARLING.

Sturnus vulgaris. Linnreus.

The Starling, which is now so generally distributed throughout
Great Britain and Ireland, has during the last thirty years materially
increased both in numbers and range in Wales and the west and
north of England. In many parts of Scotland where it is now com-
mon it was either rare or unknown within the memory of persons
hardly past middle-age, though in some of the islands it had long
been a resident. La.rge flocks arrive on our east coasts in autumn,
at which season there is also a marked migration westward, localities
in the interior of this country which have been frequented during
the summer being then almost deserted, while great numbers visit
the south of Ireland.

Examples from the Fteroes, where this species is common and
resident, have, as a rule, large and particularly broad beaks. In
Iceland a solitary specimen was obtained in December 1878, and as

218

STARLING.

long ago as 1S51, Holboll obtained one in Greenland. In Norway
it occurs as high as Tromso, but proceeding eastward we find its
northerly extension gradually diminishing, until in the Urals and
across Siberia it does not exceed 570 N. lat. Throughout Europe
our Starling is, with few exceptions, generally distributed ; its breed-
ing-range reaching as far as the northern provinces of Italy ; but
in the south and throughout the greater part of the Mediterranean
basin it is only a cold-weather visitor, although at that season it
occurs in almost incredible numbers. In the Spanish Peninsula,
Southern Italy, Sicily, Sardinia &c., the bird found in summer is the
beautiful unspotted S. unicolor ; while from Asia Minor to the Altai
range and North-western India it is represented by S. purpurascens,
and some other closely-allied species, including two lately described
by Mr. Sharpe.

The nest is usually built in some hole in a tree, cliff or bank,
or, as many persons know to their cost, in chimneys, water-pipes,
and under eaves ; but exceptionally it has been found open to the
sky in a tree. In places where suitable timber is wanting, holes in
peat-stacks and even in the turf itself, heaps of stones for mending
roads, rabbit-burrows &c., are selected. A large untidy mass of dry
grass or straw, with a little moss, wool and a few feathers for lining,
forms a receptacle for the 4-7 pale blue eggs, which measure about
x‘2 by '85 in. Where the eggs are successively removed, as many
as forty have been obtained from the same nest in the season. The
Starling feeds principally upon worms, slugs, small molluscs, flies,
beetles, ticks and other insects, but it also eats berries of various
kinds, and it has been accused of destroying fruit and the eggs of
other birds. Its song, imitative powers, habit of congregating in
large flocks at roosting time, and aerial evolutions have often been
described elsewhere with a fulness which is here unattainable.

In summer, the adult male has almost the whole plumage glossy
black, with rich metallic purple and green reflections ; the feathers
of the upper parts with triangular buff-coloured spots at the tips;
wing- and tail-feathers dark brown, with huffish margins ; bill lemon-
yellow ; legs and feet reddish-brown. After the autumn moult the
feathers of the upper parts are deeply margined with buff, and
those of the under parts are tipped with white. Length 8 ‘5 in. ;
wing 5 -2 in. The plumage of the female is less brilliant and the
terminal spots are larger. The young bird is uniform greyish-brown
above, clouded with white below ; in which plumage it is the
‘ Solitary Thrush ’ of some of the older authors.

STURN1D/E.

2 I 9

THE ROSE-COLOURED STARLING.

Pastor r<5seus (Linnaeus).

Ihis handsome species, which was first recognized as a visitor
to the British Islands in 1742, when Edwards figured an example
killed near Norwood, has subsequently occurred in most parts of the
kingdom, although, naturally, more often on the eastern side. As
a rule its arrival has taken place in summer and autumn, and the
visitors to our shores appear to have been birds which, accidentally
separated from flocks of their own species, have joined those of
Starlings &c. In Scotland, the Rose-coloured Starling has been
obtained in every district except the Outer Hebrides ; and in Ireland
its wanderings have extended to the extreme west.

As might be expected in the case of a bird which has visited the
Shetlands, the Rose-coloured Starling has strayed yet a little further
and has reached the Faeroes ; but up to the present time it has not
been found in Iceland. In Norway the only occurrence on record
is that at Trondhjems-fjord on September 30th 1885, but several
examples have been obtained in Sweden, Finland and Denmark ;
while to Heligoland its visits have been numerous. Over the rest
of Europe it is well known as an irregular migrant, increasing in
frequency as we proceed southward; and, although rarer in the
extreme west, it has been found as far as Seville in Spain. Until
June 3rd 1875, it was merely known as an almost annual summer-

220

ROSE-COLOURED STARLING.

visitor to Italy, but on that day commenced an irruption of flock
after flock, following up large flights of locusts ; and the ruined
castle of Villafranca in the province of Verona was soon occupied
by some twelve or fourteen thousand Rose-coloured Starlings, which
speedily ejected the original feathered inhabitants. The first eggs were
laid about June 17th ; by July 10th the young were fledged; and by
the 14th all had taken their departure. In Bulgaria, the Dobrud-
scha, Southern Russia, the vicinity of Smyrna in Asia Minor, and
other places, similar large colonies have been found breeding, but
not regularly ; and localities inhabited by thousands in one year may
be absolutely deserted the next. Eastward, the Rose-coloured
Starling extends through Turkestan to Lake Saisan ; numbers winter
in India; vast flocks traverse Palestine in spring; and on migration
the bird has occurred at intervals in North Africa.

The nest, composed of dry grass with a few feathers, is generally
placed in some suitable crevice in ruins, railway-cuttings, quarries
and cliffs, or among loose stones on the side of a ravine, while in
the latter case it is occasionally open to the sky. The eggs, 5-6 in
number, are glossy bluish-white : average measurements it by -83
in. The female sits very closely, and is fed by the male with locusts,
which appear to be the favourite food of old and young; for this
reason the bird is protected in the Caucasus and other districts. In
India, however, it is very destructive to grain during the cold season,
and it also devours large quantities of mulberries; in confine-
ment it will eat cockroaches. The note is a harsh and continuous
babble, which, when uttered by dense flocks in rapid flight, is
described by Canon Tristram as quite deafening. Although so
conspicuous by their colour when on the ground or perched upon a
tree, yet a small party of birds will suddenly become almost invisible
by dropping among oleander bushes, the pink flowers of which
exactly match the colour of the breast.

The adult male has the long crest, head, neck and throat glossy
violet-black; wings and tail metallic greenish-black; back, shoulders,
breast and belly rose-pink ; bill yellowish-pink, black at the base ;
legs yellowish-brown. Length 8 5 ; wing 5 in. The female is less
brightly tinted and has a smaller crest. The young bird in first
plumage is greyish-brown above, with buff margins to the wing- and
tail-feathers ; the throat is white, while the lower parts are striated
buftish-white ; the bill is brown ; but in September the moult into the
adult plumage commences.

CORVIDAE.

22 I

THE CHOUGH.

Pyrkhocorax graculus (Linnaeus).

The Chough is not only a local but also, apparently, a very
capricious species ; localities formerly inhabited by it being aban-
doned, sometimes without any assignable reason. In England at the
present day it is not known to breed to the eastward of the cliffs of
Dorsetshire, while westward as far as Cornwall its distribution is by
no means general. In North Devon there are a good many small
colonies ; but in 1887 I found that it had almost disappeared from
Lundy Island, where it was formerly abundant, owing in a great
measure to the ravages of the Peregrine, which, in default of
Pigeons, is very partial to Choughs — especially the young. On the
sea-cliffs and also in some inland localities of AVales it is not unfre-
quent ; and it is resident in the Isle of Man, whence a pair or two
occasionally visit Cumberland and attempt to nest there, from the
Wigtonshire coast it has almost vanished, but it still breeds on Islay,
Jura, Skye, and other islands of Scotland, as well as on the main-
land. On the east side of Great Britain and inland it is chiefly of
accidental occurrence. In Ireland it is by no means rare on the
coast of Waterford and Cork, very abundant on the cliffs of Kerry,

222

CHOUGH.

and decidedly numerous on those of Mayo, Donegal and Antrim •
but the east side of the island affords few favourable sites.

In the Channel Islands, especially Guernsey, the Chough is
tolerably common, and it breeds in some of the rocky portions of
the north-western and west coasts of France, as well as in those of
Portugal. It is, however, in inland mountainous situations, such as
some parts of the Alps, the Carpathians, the Parnassus, the Urals,
the Apennines, the Pyrenees, and the south of Spain, that it is
most abundant, while on the rocky islands of the Mediterranean
it is plentiful ; it is also resident in the hill-regions of Northern
Africa, Abyssinia, Arabia, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, and Persia,
and throughout the mountain ranges of Asia as far as North-eastern
( hina. As a rule this bird is little given to wandering.

The nest, built from the latter part of April to the middle of May,
is composed of long wiry stems of heather, or of some deciduous
plant, and is well lined with wool and hair. It is frequently placed
in some cavity in the roof ot a cave ; but sometimes in vertical
fissures, holes of ruins, or disused lime-kilns. The eggs, 3-5 in
number, are greyish-white with occasionally a yellow or greenish
tinge, spotted and streaked with several shades of dark grey and
pale brown : average measurements 1*5 by it in. When flying, the
Chough performs a series of curves in the air, alternately rising with
a scream, and then suddenly dropping with almost closed wings ; '
but on the ground its movement is a short and very quick run.
The usual cry is a clear metallic ‘kling,’ but in autumn I have heard
flocks uttering ‘chough-chough’ very plainly. The food consists of
insects and their larvae, and occasionally of grain.

In the adult male the plumage is glossy bluish-black, with a slight
green tint on the primaries ; bill, legs, and feet cherry-red. Length
16 in.; wing 107 in. The female only differs in being somewhat
smaller. In the nestling the beak and legs are dull orange, but by
September those parts have become as red as in the parents.

A yellow-billed Alpine Chough, P. a/pinus, shot near Banbury,
Oxfordshire, on April 8th 1881, and examined in the flesh by Mr.

O. V. Aplin, is now in the collection of Mr. Whitaker. The species
is eminently sedentary, and it is unlikely that an individual should
have wandered so far from its home in the mountains of Central and
Southern Europe. I believe that Lady Dorothy Nevill, who has
been successful in inducing our species to breed in confinement, has
purchased importations from the Continent, and it is probable that
the bird in question had escaped.

CORVID*:.

223

THE NUTCRACKER.

Nucifraga caryocatactes (Linnaeus).

The Nutcracker is a very irregular visitor to England and Wales,
but altogether about twenty fairly authenticated occurrences are on
record ; principally in the southern half of our island, and all of
them, so far as is known, in autumn. In Scotland one was shot at
Invergarry in October 1868, and one in Orkney (Buckley) ; but as
yet there is no evidence that the bird has visited Ireland. It is a
forest-loving species, and does not, as a rule, wander much from its
usual haunts ; but in autumn large flocks are sometimes formed, and
in search of food considerable migrations take place, to which we
are indebted for its erratic appearances.

This conspicuous bird frequents districts in which conifers prepon-
derate; breeding south of lat. 67° in Scandinavia, in some of the
islands of the Baltic, the Black Forest, the French, Swiss, and Italian
Alps, the Carpathians, and the mountains of Hungary. It is also said
to nest in some of the pine-clad valleys of the Pyrenees, on both
sides of which it undoubtedly occurs ; and, as it has been observed
in Estremadura in Spain, it is not improbable that it may inhabit the

2 24

NU'l CRACKER.

elevated fir-woods in the south of that country: but upon these
points further information is much to be desired. Its southward
migrations have extended to Sardinia and Sicily, but not as yet to
Greece or Turkey; nor does it appear to be found in the Caucasus.
Eastward, it occurs throughout a great part of the forest region of
Siberia as far as Kamschatka ; also in the Kuril Islands, Tapan,
Corea and Northern China. In Cashmere it is represented by the
closely-allied species JV. multipunctata, and in the Himalayas by the
larger and browner IV. hemispila. Examples from Northern Asia
have the bill deeper from the angle of the gonys to the ridge of the
upper mandible than specimens from Europe, and it is almost
needless to add that they have been separated specifically or sub-
specifically by C. L. Brehm and others.

In Europe the Nutcracker often begins to breed early in March,
while the forests are still difficult of access owing to the snow' ; and
although eggs were obtained in the French Alps by the late Abbe
Caire in 1846, it was not until after 1862 that English ornithologists
became acquainted with them. The rather bulky nest is placed
from fifteen to thirty feet from the ground in a pine-tree, close to
the stem ; and is composed of twigs, with grass, roots, and a little
moss and lichen for a lining. Sometimes the bird will sit upon only
two eggs, but 4-5 are usual ; they are pale bluish-green, spotted with
ash-brown, like some light varieties of those of the Magpie : average
measurements 1 ‘3 by -95 in. In Arctic Siberia the Nutcracker
does not appear to breed before the middle of June, for Mr. See-
bohm, who found it absurdly tame on the Yenesei — allowing of close
approach, and congregating upon bushes round the houses and on
the rigging of his ship, for scraps of meat and refuse — noticed
that it remained until the 7th of the above month ; after which
it was not seen until August. The seeds of fir-cones are i s

favourite food, especially those of the arolla pine ( Pinus cembra) in
Switzerland, but the bird is almost omnivorous. Its flight is slow’
and undulating ; the note is a grating kr, kr, kr.

The adult male is umber-brown above and below, profusely spotted
with drop-shaped white markings on the back and breast, and more
sparingly on the throat ; wing-feathers glossy black ; tail-feathers
greenish-black, with broad white tips to all except the central pair ;
under tail-coverts white ; bill and legs black. Length about 12 in. ;
wing 7 "5 in. The female generally shows a rather browner tint on
the wing-feathers. The nestling is dull dirty brown with small grey-
ish-white spots ; the quill-feathers have a brownish tint, and the
under tail-coverts are dusky.

CORVID/E.

225

THE JAY.

Garrulus glandArius (Linnaeus).

The Jay is less abundant than formerly, owing chiefly to the dis-
like entertained for it by game-keepers, but partly to the esteem
in which its blue wing-feathers are held for making artificial flies.
Being, however, an inhabitant of woodlands and a very wary as well
as a wandering bird, it manages to hold its own in spite of persecu-
tion, and is still tolerably common throughout England and Wales.
In Scotland its numbers have decreased, but its range has extended
northward with the spread of plantations, and now reaches to Glen-
garry, Inverness-shire ; though Messrs. Harvie-Brown and Buckley
have not found it in Sutherland or Caithness, nor does it visit the
Hebrides. Saxby asserts that he once saw it in the Shetlands, but
no one else has observed it there. In Ireland it seems to be a
diminishing and very local species, almost confined to the eastern
and southern districts. In our islands the Jay is resident, but lar^e
flocks from the Continent sometimes visit our east coasts in autumn •
and this was especially the case in 1882, in the district eastward of
a line drawn from the Firth of Forth to Portland Bill in Dorset.

226

JAY.

South of the Arctic circle in Scandinavia, and of about 63° N. lat.
in Russia as far as the valley of the Volga, the Jay is found through-
out the suitable wooded portions of Europe, down to the Mediter-
ranean and Black Seas. In North Africa it is represented by
G. cervicalis , a species with a black crown, white ear-coverts, and a
deep rufous nape; while forms to which specific rank has been
accorded by some authorities and denied by others are found inter-
grading from the Urals, the Caucasus, Asia Minor and Persia eastward,
until the extreme of differentiation is reached in Southern Siberia
and Northern China in G. brandti. The race found in the south
island of the Japanese group differs from the European bird in
having some black on the lores.

• The nest, often commenced early in April, and fairly well con-
cealed, is an open, cup-shaped structure of short twigs, neatly lined with
fine roots and grasses ; it is usually not more than twenty feet above
the ground, in the branches or the outgrowth of the side of a tree, or
in some high thick bush. The eggs, 5-6 in number, are greenish-
grey, thickly speckled and often zoned towards the larger end with
olive-brown, sometimes scrolled with a few black hair-lines : average
measurement 1 '2 by ’9 in. The young at first go about in family
parties, but subsequently they often unite with others and form
bands which at times migrate in large streams, chiefly in a
westerly direction. Thus in the autumn of 1876, and again in that
of 1882, immense numbers, apparently coming from the great forest
regions of Eastern Germany, were observed crossing Heligoland
during three consecutive days. The food of the Jay consists chiefly
of worms, insects, berries, nuts, beechmast, acorns and fruit, but
also to some extent of the eggs and young of other birds. The
natural note is a harsh screech, but, as is well known, the bird possesses
considerable imitative powers.

The adult male has the head covered with a whitish crest, each
feather tipped or striped with black ; ear-coverts, nape and back
light vinous-brown ; rump white ; tail-feathers black, the exterior
pair brownish ; primaries dull black with white margins to the outer
webs ; secondaries deep black with long white basal patches, the
innermost feather rich chestnut tipped with black ; wing-coverts
barred alternately with black, white and pale blue ; chin pale buff ;
from the base of the bill backwards a black streak ; under parts
bufAsh-white, turning to rufous on the flanks ; bill dark horn-colour;
iris bluish-white ; legs and feet pale brown. Length about 1T25 in.;
wing 7 '2 in. The female resembles the male, and the young differ
little from the adults except in having brown irides.

CORVIJVK.

227

THE MAGPIE.

Pica rustica (Scopoli).

In many parts of Great Britain game-preservers have been more
successful in diminishing the numbers of the Magpie than of the
Jay, but it is still widely distributed throughout the island ; while in
Ireland it is now an extremely common and increasing species.
From the North Cape in Scandinavia southward, it is found, more
or less plentifully, throughout Europe, except in the islands of
Corsica and Sardinia ; but it does not occur in Palestine, although
found in Asia Minor. Eastward — subject to a variation in the
amount of white in the plumage, which has led to the creation of
several bad species — the Magpie is found across Asia to India,
China and Japan, and also in the northern portion of America from

x 2

228

MAGPIE.

the Pacific to Michigan ; but in California it is represented by
P. nultalli , with yellow bill and ear-patch. Algeria and Morocco
are inhabited by P. mauritanica , which has a bare blue ear-patch
and no grey on the rump ; but it is interesting to note that though
in Spain specimens from any part down to Seville are identical with
those from Norway, yet examples from the Alpujarras, where a geo-
logically-recent connection with Africa existed, are distinctly inter-
mediate between the typical and the African species.

The nest, large and domed, is often begun towards the end of
March, and is made of thorny sticks cemented together with clay at
the foundation, with fine roots and dry grass as a lining. It is
generally placed at some height in the fork of a tree, but often in
tall — and sometimes in very low — hedges and thorn-bushes ; while
in Norway it is occasionally under the eaves of houses or on the
ground. Lord Lilford found several nests in the papyrus reeds of
the Anapo, near Syracuse. The eggs, usually 6 but sometimes 9 in
number, are bluish-green or yellowish-white in ground-colour, closely
freckled with olive-brown : average measurements 1 ’3 5 by 1 in. As
regards its food, the Magpie is almost omnivorous ; the benefits it
confers by devouring slugs, snails, worms, rats and mice probably
counterbalancing its destructiveness to the eggs and young of poultry
and game ; while, as showing its boldness, Lord Lilford has recorded
(Zool. 1888, p. 184) an instance of fourteen or fifteen Magpies
attacking a sore-backed donkey in severe snowy weather, and after
its death from natural causes, several were shot in the act of
feeding upon its body. The note is a harsh chatter, kept up inces-
santly as long as any obnoxious person or animal remains in its
haunts ; while the manner in which the bird will hover over and
swoop at an exhausted fox must be a familiar sight to many sports-
men, and frequently conveys to them the earliest intimation that the
quarry is sinking.

The adult has the head, neck, back and breast black, glossed with
green and violet; rump grey ; scapulars and belly white ; secondaries
black, with violet lustre; primaries black, glossed with green, and
having an elongated patch of white on their inner webs ; tail black,
iridescent with greenish-bronze ; bill, legs and feet black. Average
length 18 in., of which the longest tail-feathers measure sometimes
11 in. ; wing 7-75 in. The female is slightly smaller and less brill-
iant in plumage ; while the feathers of the young have comparatively
little sheen.

CORVID/}-:.

229

THE JACKDAW.

C6rvus monedui-a, Linnaeus.

The Jackdaw is a familiar resident bird throughout England and
Wales : it is also common over the greater part of Scotland, but in
the north-west it is somewhat rare ; and although it breeds sparingly
in Skye it has not yet been noticed in the Outer Hebrides; Mr. Buck-
ley informs me that there are now several colonies in the Orkneys,
but to the Shetlands it is only an accidental visitor. In Ireland it
is, as a rule, abundant ; but in Kerry, Donegal, and other wild
portions of the coast its place is taken by the Chough, and it is
only exceptionally that the two species are found breeding within
the same area. The same holds good of Guernsey in the Channel
Islands, and on Lundy Island there are no Jackdaws ; in fact,
although generally distributed along our coasts as well as in town
and country, this bird is sometimes unaccountably absent. Large
numbers arrive on our east coast in autumn, and a similar migration
occurs at Heligoland.

To the Faeroes and Iceland the Jackdaw rarely wanders, and in
Norway it is not found breeding north of Trondhjems-fjord ; though
in Russia it occurs at Mezen, near the Arctic circle. It is found
and, as a rule, is resident throughout the rest of Europe ; but in

230

JACKDAW.

the south of France, Spain, Italy, Greece, and some other portions
of the Mediterranean basin, including Morocco and Algeria, it is
extremely local. After heavy gales from the south-east it has been
found in the Canaries. Between Eastern Europe and Turkestan,
Cashmere, and the valley of the Yenesei in Siberia, the examples
obtained have remarkably white and well-defined collars ; but from
the Altai Mountains to Eastern Siberia and China, the representative
species is C. daiiricus , which has the nape, sides of the neck, lower
breast and belly ashy-white.

I’ or its breeding-place the Jackdaw chooses holes and cavities in
rocks, churches and castles— -ruined or not, the chimneys of in-
habited houses, rabbit-burrows and hollow trees; while sometimes
the nest is among stalks of coarse ivy on cliffs, open to the sky. It
is usually a substantial, and sometimes a monstrous, pile of sticks,
warmly lined with wool, rabbit’s-fur and other soft materials. The
eSgs> 4-6 in number, laid towards the end of April, are of a pale
bluish-green, boldly spotted and blotched with black, olive-brown
and violet-grey ; sometimes the ground-colour is greyish-white and
the markings are very scanty: average measurements 1*4 by 1 in.
The warm lining is often pulled over the eggs, so as to conceal
them ; and Mr. C. B. Wharton found a clutch smeared and
apparently disguised with a coating of clay, taken from a lump which
"as in the nest. At Cambridge great inconvenience was formerly
caused by the appropriation of the labels from the old Botanic
Garden by the Jackdaws ; no less than eighteen dozen being dis-
covered in one chimney. The food consists chiefly of insects and
their larvae, worms, and the parasites found on sheep, upon the backs
of which the bird may often be seen perched. The flight is rapid
but wavering, numerous evolutions being performed in the air to the
accompaniment of a short clear note, sounding like cae. Although
it generally flies in pairs the Jackdaw is at all times more or less
gregarious, but especially so in winter.

The adult male has the lores and crown of the head glossy
purplish-black ; ear-coverts, nape and sides of the neck grey, in-
clining to white, and producing the effect of a collar ; rest of the
upper parts glossy black ; under parts dusky-black ; bill, legs and feet
black. Length about 13 in. ; wing g'2^ in. The female is some-
what smaller and the grey collar is less defined. The young are
dull black, with very little grey on the head and nape. The iris is
white at all ages.

CORVIDAE.

23>

Corvus corax, Linnaeus.

Although a diminishing species, in consequence of the hatred en-
tertained for it by sheep-farmers and the ease with which it can be
trapped, the Raven still maintains itself in the British Islands. In
the south its numbers are chiefly kept down by the prices paid for
young birds ; but even now, from Kent to Cornwall, and along the
rocky coasts of North Devon and Wales there is hardly a suitable
headland in or near which a pair does not at least attempt to breed
annually; nests built in trees, although far rarer than formerly, being
less uncommon than might be supposed at short distances inland.
Not long ago several pairs bred in Essex ; but in the eastern
counties and throughout the interior of England the Raven is now
rare. On the hills and fells of the north and west it is still to be
found ; while in Scotland, and especially in the islands, it is by no
means uncommon where there are suitable cliffs for its protection.
In Ireland it is still resident in the wilder parts, but its numbers
have decreased of late years.

In the Fteroes the Raven is stationary, and pied birds, occa-

THE RAVEN.

232

RAVEN.

sionally met with in the British Islands and elsewhere, are there
rather frequent. In Iceland and Scandinavia the bird sacred to
Odin is abundant, and, as a straggler it has been observed in
Spitsbergen ; while southward, it is distributed all over Europe,
especially in the wooded and mountainous districts, and along the
sea-coast. It inhabits the northern half of Asia down to the Hima-
layas ; but in Palestine and North-eastern Africa it is represented
by the smaller Brown-necked Raven, C. umbrinus , and also by
C. affims , which has the nasal bristles pointed upwards, and very
long secondaries ; while North-western Africa, the Canaries and
Madeira, are inhabited by another small species, C. tingitanus. In
America the Raven is found across the continent from the Pacific
to Greenland, and southward to Guatemala, but it is local and not
common to the east of the Mississippi.

I he nest, often built or repaired towards the end of February,
though later on the fells, is generally a bulky structure when placed
in a crag, but when in trees is, according to my experience, smaller
and more compact. The foundation is a mass of sticks, stems of
heather &c., while the lining is of wool, rabbit’s-fur, deer's-hair and
other soft substances. The eggs, 3-5, rarely 7 in number, are bluish-
green, flecked with olive-brown, sometimes sparingly, but at other
times so thickly as to produce an almost uniform ash-brown appear-
ance; exceptionally they are reddish-white, blotched with rufous-
brown : average measurements 1 ‘9 by 1 -32 in. In the south of Spain
the Raven has eggs in April, but there perhaps it breeds twice in the
year. In defence of its nest ii is very bold, attacking even an Eagle ;
while its harsh, defiant, barking ivhow, whom , when once heard, will
never be forgotten. It has, however, softer and more musical notes,
generally uttered early in the year, while the bird is performing aerial
evolutions and frequent somersaults; and its imitative and linguistic
powers in confinement are well known. There is a bold sweep in its
flight unrivalled by that of any other Corvine bird. In its food it is
omnivorous ; and where its depredations among lambs, weakly ewes
and game are, naturally, resented, it is shy and difficult of approach ;
but in other parts it is very tame, and in Majorca I have seen pairs
following the peasants closely when ploughing the ground under the
olive-trees, just like Rooks. It is a great destroyer of rats.

1 he plumage of the adult is black, glossed with purplish-blue
on the upper parts and the acuminate feathers of the throat ; tail
slightly rounded ; bill, legs and feet black. Length about 25 in. ;
wing 17 in. The female is slightly smaller than the male, and her
plumage, like that of the young, is less lustrous.

CORVIDAE.

233

Corvus cor6ne, Linnaeus.

In spite of the constant persecution which this species under-
goes from those interested in the preservation of game, it is still
fairly common in most of the wooded districts of England and
Wales ; especially in the neighbourhood of low-lying coasts, estu-
aries, lakes, and somewhat sluggish rivers. Near London, where it
is comparatively unmolested, it is by no means rare, and a pair has
nested this year (1888) in one of the Parks. In the north of Eng-
land, especially in the Lake district and on the Cheviots, it is
common; and in the south of Scotland and as far north as Perthshire,
it is abundant; beyond which, and in the west, the prevailing form
is the Hooded Crow : the two not unfrequently interbreeding. Its
asserted occurrence in the Orkneys and Shetlands requires confirma-
tion, but it is resident, though scarce, in Skye, and is said to stray to
the Outer Hebrides. In Ireland it is extremely rare, its place being
taken by the Hooded Crow. Considerable accessions to its numbers
take place on the east coast of Great Britain in autumn.

Even to the southern portions of Scandinavia the Carrion-Crow
is a very irregular visitor, and its reported existence near Archangel
is open to question ; while in the interior of Russia it is decidedly

THE CARRION-CROW.

234

CARRION-CROW.

uncommon, although frequent in the Caucasus, the Black Sea dis-
trict,^ the valley of the Danube, Greece, and Southern Germany.
In Northern Germany its eastern summer-limits are approximately
indicated by the valley of the Elbe ; while to the west and south
it is found breeding as far as France, the Spanish Peninsula, the
northern districts of Italy, Corsica and Sardinia. In Asia it nests
in Turkestan, and, sparingly, in Cashmere ; in Western Siberia it
meets and interbreeds freely with the Hooded Crow; but in the
forest district between the Yenesei and the Pacific, as well as in
Northern China and Japan, the Carrion-Crow again prevails. Its

occurrence in North Africa is doubtful, but it is said to visit
Madeira.

This species seldom makes its nest before the middle of April,
generally selecting for the purpose some moderately tall tree which
affords a good look-out, or a ledge of rock ; but, where these sites are
not available, it will build in a low bush, and even on the ground.
The structure is composed of sticks, fine twigs &c., with a warm
lining of wool and other soft materials ; the eggs, usually 4-5 in
number, are bluish-green, spotted and blotched with olive-brown :
average measurements 17 by r2 in. The Carrion-Crow probably
pairs for life, and is generally to be seen in couples, quartering the
ground carefully, with somewhat heavy and laboured flight, in quest
of food. Carrion, weakly lambs, poultry, the eggs of game and
water-fowl, leverets, moles, rats, fish, mussels and the refuse of the
shore nothing comes amiss to it ; but it will also eat insects, grubs,
grain and fruit, like the Rock, and I have seen it on the hill-sides in
the Pyrenees in similar flocks. Its ordinary note is a hoarse croak,
but it sometimes emits sounds which may almost be called musical ;
while in confinement it develops some capacity for imitation.

The adult has the entire plumage black, glossed on the upper
parts with purple, tinged with green on the head, neck and throat ;
nostrils covered with thick bristly feathers, directed forwards ; bill,
legs and feet black. Length about 19-5 in.; wing 13 in. The
female is less glossy, and has sometimes a browner tinge on her
plumage than the male. The young bird is still duller in colour.

I he inside of the mouth is always pale flesh-colour : in the young
Rook it is dark flesh-colour, soon turning livid, and afterwards slate-
colour. Albinisms and varieties are not very common ; the Rev.
H. A. Macpherson has recorded one of a reddish-fawn, the rest of
the brood being in normal plumage.

CORVID/E.

235

THE HOODED CROW.

Corvus C('>rnix, Linnmus.

This bird, often called the Grey or RoySton Crow, is, a regular
and numerous visitor to England and Wales from October onwards;
while a few instances are on record of its having remained to breed,
and cases of hybridism with the Carrion-Crow are not unfrequent
in the north. In the Isle of Man it is said to nest annually. On
the mainland of Scotland it is only too abundant, predominating in
the north and west, and becoming the representative form in the
Outer Hebrides, Orkneys and Shetlands. In Ireland also it is com-
mon and increasing, especially in the south. The majority of the
large flocks found in our eastern districts arrive from the Continent.

In the Faeroes the Hooded Crow is resident, and it occasionally
visits Iceland. In Scandinavia, P'inland and Northern Russia it is
common, migrating from the higher latitudes in winter, at which
season large flocks are found in Northern Germany west of the
Elbe ; but these, as a rule, take their departure in March, although
some occasionally remain to interbreed with the Carrion-Crow.
Colonies of the pure-bred bird are dotted about Central Germany
and are frequent in Galizia; but to Switzerland, France and Spain, it
is only a winter-visitor, though it nests in the islands of Majorca,

236

HOODED CROW.

Corsica and Sardinia ; in Italy also, and Sicily, as well as in the
Cyclades, it is resident. To North-Western Africa it is only a
visitor, but in Egypt it is very abundant where there are trees,
breeding in February and March ; it is also found in Syria, and
it swarms in Southern Russia ; while eastward it can be traced
through Asia Minor and Persia to Afghanistan; and northward,
through Turkestan and Siberia as far as Tomsk. Between that
place and Krasnoiarsk— about 350 miles east— the area is occupied
b) hybrids between this bird and the Carrion-Crow, the latter be-
coming, as already stated, the representative form in Eastern Siberia
(Seebohm).

In the south of Ireland the Hooded Crow sometimes has eggs
by the middle of March (Zool. 1883, p. 337), but in Scotland it is
later in breeding. According to circumstances, the nest is placed
on inland rocks, sea-cliffs, tall trees, low bushes, on the ground
among heather, or even on the roofs of huts. The materials are
similar to those employed by the Carrion-Crow, and the eggs, 4-5
in number, cannot with certainty be distinguished, but they are often
slightly larger, paler, and of a brighter green ground-colour. The
call-notes are similar, and so are the habits and food, although
perhaps the Hooded Crow is rather the bolder robber. I have seen
a young one greedily devouring the carcase of a recently shot mem-
ber of the same brood.

The thoroughbred bird has the head, throat, wings, tail and
thighs black, glossed with greenish-purple ; the rest of the body
ashy-grey, with a few dark streaks down the centres of the breast-
feathers ; the remainder as in the Carrion-Crow, the grey colour
forming the sole distinction. To some extent the hybrids are fertile,
and Mr. Seebohm found every intermediate state of plumage
between the two forms. A large case of specimens illustrating
these gradations has been presented by him to the Natural History
Museum at South Kensington. Northern examples of the Hooded
Crow are rather larger than those resident in the south of Europe,
and also, as a rule, than Carrion-Crows from Scotland ; the latter
apparently attaining its fullest development in the centre and south
of Europe. Professor Newton has expressed with his usual perspi-
cacity the reasons for not admitting their specific distinctness ; but,
without entering into argument, it has seemed expedient to treat
them under separate headings in the present work.

CORVIDS.

237

THE ROOK.

Corvus frijGILEGUS, Linnaeus.

The Rook is even better known than the Jackdaw, owing to
its custom of living in noisy flocks throughout the year, and its
tendency to select the vicinity of human habitations for its
breeding-places. The rookeries still existing in London have often
been enumerated, but unfortunately their number is diminishing ;
and the same must be said of other large cities and towns. As
regards the country, the Rook is generally distributed throughout
England and Wales ; while in Scotland it has for some years been
increasing in numbers and northward range, breeding in Sutherland
and Caithness, and even at Kirkwall, Deerness and Melsetter, in the
Orkneys. In Skye there are now two large rookeries near Dun-
vegan, and two that are smaller ; but throughout Scotland generally
the increase of the Rook is not regarded with favour, for in default
of other food it undoubtedly pilfers eggs. To the Outer Hebrides,
Shetlands and Faeroes it is as yet only a straggler. In Ireland it is
common. Numbers visit our east coast in October and November
from the Continent, and a considerable return migration has been
observed early in the spring.

Large flocks of Rooks made their appearance towards the end of

238

KOOK.

November 1880 in Iceland ; and in Scandinavia— whence, as a rule,
it emigrates in winter— it breeds below the line of the fells- as it
also does in Finland on the frontier of the St. Petersburg district, and
sparingly as far as Archangel. During summer it is generally, though
somewhat irregularly, distributed throughout the rest of Northern
and Central Europe ; nesting southward down to the vicinity of
Biarritz in France, Modena and Venetia in Italy, the Dobrudscha,
and the Crimea. It is probable— but on this point information is
desirable that it also breeds in the exceptionally moist province of
Galicia, in the north-west of Spain ; but otherwise it is only known
as a winter-visitor to the Peninsula and the countries in the Medi-
terranean basin, where, during summer, the soil is usually too hard
to be bored for grubs &c. It nests in the wooded districts of
Northern Persia, Turkestan, and Siberia as far as the valley of the
Irtish ; visiting Afghanistan, Cashmere, North-western India, and
Palestine in winter, at which season it is also found in Egypt down
to Memphis, and occasionally in Algeria. In Eastern Siberia, China,
and Japan the representative species is C. pastinator , in which the
throat is feathered, and the plumage purplish-black.

The nest, built about the middle of March, and composed of
twigs and turf, with a lining of roots and straw— but seldom, if ever,
any wool is generally placed in tall trees, but sometimes in pollard
willows, firs, laurustinus and holly-bushes ; occasionally on chimney-
tops and ornaments of church-spires, and exceptionally on the ground.
In the Orkneys dry tangle and fish-bones are used as building-material.
The eggs, 3-5 in number, are like those of the Carrion-Crow, bluish -
green blotched and streaked with olive-brown, but rather smaller :
average measurements 1 '6 by 1-15 in. The food consists chiefly of
insects and their larvae, but practically the Rook will eat anything,
and in dry seasons or localities it not only takes eggs if the occasion
offers, but hunts for them, like a Crow-. Its note is the well-known
ccnv.

In the adult the general plumage is black with a blue gloss ; the
forehead, lores and throat are bare of feathers, and show a greyish-
w-arty skin ; bill, legs and feet black ; inside of mouth slate-coloured.
Length about 19 in.; wing 12-75 in- the young, until the second
moult, the base of the bill is bristly, as in the Crow, but the bill
itself is more slender, and the inside is deep flesh-colour ; the feathers
have greyer bases, and the plumage has a bluish tint. The bird
does not breed until it is nearly two years old. White and piebald
varieties are not uncommon, and curious malformations of the bill
have been noticed.

AI.AUDID/R

239

THE SKYLARK.

Alauda arvensis, Linrueus.

This favourite songster is of general distribution throughout
the British Islands, being especially abundant in the vicinity of
arable or pasture land. A considerable emigration takes place
from the northern districts in autumn ; and at that season the flocks
of our home-bred birds are augmented by hordes from the Con-
tinent, which are sometimes observed arriving on our east coast
for days in succession ; while in Ireland a similar invasion from
England takes place.

'['he Skylark only breeds in small numbers in the Fseroes,
although large bands visit that group of islands in autumn. In
Scandinavia it nests as far north as lat. 70°, but is comparatively
rare beyond the Arctic circle ; while eastward it is found, in suit-
able localities, across Russia, Siberia, and Asia generally north of
the Himalayas, as far as the coast of the Pacific, the Kuril and
other islands, and Japan. In winter it visits China. North-western
India, Afghanistan, Persia, Asia Minor, Palestine and Egypt.
During the summer it is found throughout Europe, though com-
paratively few breed in the southern portions of the Spanish Penin-
sula, where it has been noticed that the examples resident on the
higher grounds are rather dark in colour. In autumn a general

240

SKYLARK.

movement southward takes place, few, if anv, remaining on the
northern side of the Baltic ; and on Heligoland as many as 15,000
have been caught in a single night, while immense numbers are
taken both on passage and in winter in the south of Europe. The
Skylark also visits Northern Africa, where a few breed on the slopes
of the Atlas ; its wanderings sometimes extending to Madeira. It is
even said to have strayed to Greenland, but Reinhardt has expressly
denied any knowledge of such an occurrence. It is well known to
have been introduced to the United States, and on June 12th 1850,
an example was shot at Hamilton, Bermudas. Its importation to
Australia and New Zealand is notorious.

The nest, often commenced in the first half of April, and placed
on the ground in a hollow among growing crops, or under the
shelter of some tuft, clod of earth &c., is made of dry grass
with a finer lining of the same. The eggs, 3-5 in number, are dull
grey, thickly mottled and often zoned with olive-brown : average
measurements -92 by -68 in. Incubation lasts fifteen days, and two
broods are generally produced in the season. The food consists of
insects and worms, with a considerable quantity of seeds of various
kinds during the colder portion of the year, and a certain amount
of grit to aid digestion. Every one must be familiar with the rap-
turous trill of the Skylark, as, rising from the ground, it soars, still
singing, until almost lost to sight ; but it sometimes utters its song
while on the ground, and, exceptionally, I have seen a bird— -unmis-
takably of this species and not a Tree-Pipit — giving forth its joyous
carol while swaying in the wind on the topmost branch of a tree
some twenty feet in height. Like other members of the family, the
Skylark is fond of dusting itself to get rid of insect parasites ; and,
contrary to the custom of the Pipits, it does not bathe in water.

The adult in spring has the general plumage of the upper parts
warm yellowish-brown, streaked with dark brown, especially on the
crown and back; over the eye a huffish- white streak; quills dark
brown, with buff outer margins and greyish-white tips ; tail-feathers
with dark brown centres and tawny edges, except the outer pair,
which are chiefly white, and the second pair which have white outer
webs ; under parts buffish-white, distinctly spotted and streaked with
dark brown on the throat, breast and flanks ; bill dark brown above,
paler below; legs yellowish-brown. The dimensions vary greatly:
average length 7 in.; wing 4^25 in. The sexes are alike in plumage.
In the young bird the feathers are broadly tipped with buff ; while
in autumn both young and old have a tawny tint.

ALAUDID.4E.

24r

THE WOODLARK.

Alauda arborea, Linnaeus.

The Woodlark is a locally distributed species in England and
Wales, and during the breeding-season it is chiefly to be found on
warm, dry, light soils, especially on undulating ground studded
with copses or plantations. Although nowhere plentiful, it is most
frequent in some of the southern counties, such as Devon, Dorset,
Wilts, and Gloucestershire ; it is also fairly distributed along the
dry, wooded and rising ground on both sides of the valley of the
Thames, and over the line of the chalk formation which runs from
Buckinghamshire to West Norfolk. In the midland counties it is
very local, and northward it gradually becomes scarce ; compara-
tively few breeding in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumberland and the
Lake district. Up to that point, however, it appears to be a resident
which has suffered considerably from the persecutions of bird-
catchers and to some extent from severe winters ; but in Scotland
it is only a rare and local visitor in summer as far as Stirling-
shire, where its nest has been taken by Mr. Harvie-Brown ; though
on migration examples are said to have been obtained much further
north, and once even in Orkney. Many of these records require
corroboration, and it may be well to remember that the term
‘ Woodlark ’ is often misapplied to the Tree Pipit by bird-catchers
and others. In winter considerable numbers are sometimes found
in the southern districts of England, especially in snowy weather,
but there does not appear to be any considerable immigration from
the Continent. In Ireland it is resident in a few suitable localities.

242

WOODLARK.

In summer the Woodlark inhabits the southern portions of Scan-
dinavia, and Russia below about 6o° N. lat., as far east as the Ural
Mountains, while in Northern Germany it is common. Southward, it
is found in places suited to its habits— especially in Central France-
down to the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas ; its numbers
eing increased by accessions from the north in winter, at which
season it also visits Northern Africa and Palestine, and in the latter
it is said to breed on the high ground.

The nest, rather firmly constructed of grass and a little moss,
with fine bents for a lining, is generally placed in a depression of
the ground, sheltered by a low bush or a tuft of grass, but some-
times in smooth turf. The eggs, 4-5 in number, often laid by the
middle of March, are white or pale greenish-white, finely spotted
and often boldly zoned with warm-brown and violet-grev : average
measurements -83 by -63 in. They are quite unlike Skylark’s eggs,
resembling rather some varieties of those of the Crested Lark.
At least two broods are produced in this country, but on the Con-
tinent the bird does not appear to nest so early as with us ; while
in autumn young and old rove about in family parties. The food
consists principally of insects, supplemented by small seeds and ten-
der herbage. The sweet and flute-like song, fairly indicated by the
French name ‘ Lu-lu ’ repeated several times, is very attractive, and
is uttered by day, and not unfrequently by night, almost throughout
the year, except during the moulting season ; the bird hovering in
the air and descending spirally with half-closed wings.

The adult male resembles the Skylark in the general mottled-
brown colour of its upper parts and in its crest, but it may always
be distinguished from that species by its smaller size, much shorter
tail, more slender bill, and by a very broad buffish-white stripe
which runs backward over each eye to the nape, and shows up the
dark ear-coverts ; the bastard primary is much longer, and there is a
conspicuous triangular patch of dark brown tipped with buffish-
white on the larger wing-coverts; the tail-feathers are chiefly brown-
ish-black with triangular white tips; the throat and breast are
yellowish -white streaked with dark brown ; belly yellowish-white ;
legs and feet flesh-brown. Length 6 in. ; wing 3-6 in. The female
is slightly smaller and shows less crest ; the young are more rufous
and have light buff tips to their feathers.

ALAUD1D/E.

243

THE CRESTED LARK.

Alauda cristata, Linnseus,

Although the Crested Lark is a tolerably common bird on the
opposite side of the Channel, yet authenticated specimens have
seldom been obtained even in the south of England ; a Skylark
with a well-developed crest having often been fondly ascribed by
its owner to this very distinct species. Mr. Bond has a genuine
example obtained at Littlehampton, Sussex, previous to 1845, and
another was taken alive near Shoreham on October 20th 1863,
while at intervals five have been killed in Cornwall — all of them in
autumn and winter, with the exception of one shot on June 12th
1880. Capt. Hadfield asserts that one was captured in the Isle of
Wight, and Mr. Harting has recorded (Zool. 18S3, p. 178) without
seeing the specimen, the statement by a bird-stuffer that one had
been taken from the nest near Cambridge. The species is not
known to have visited Scotland, and its supposed occurrence in
Ireland rests upon an anonymous paragraph in a newspaper.

The Crested Lark flourishes best in warm countries, but it can
bear cold well, although snow interferes with its means of subsist-
ence ; and it is resident in small numbers as far as 6o° N. lat. in
Sweden and Russia. In Denmark, Northern Germany, Holland
and Belgium, it becomes more frequent ; in the north of France

u 2

244

CRESTED LARK.

it is fairly common ; while in Central and Southern Europe it is
abundant, especially on dry sandy soils, except in Corsica, Sardinia
an lalta, in which it is nearly unknown. It is numerous in North
* nca, and as far south as Senegal on the west ; but there and else-
where an approach to the desert is generally accompanied by a more
sandy tint, and sometimes by an increase of size and a greater de-
velopment of bill. Allowing for these and other climatic variations,
" IC^ ^ave le<3 to the fabrication of some thirty species and sub-
species, the Crested Lark may be said to range eastward from
Morocco to Abyssinia, and from Arabia to Northern China.

The nest, often commenced early in March, is usually placed in
some such depression of the dry ground as a hoof-print, or amongst
herbage, but sometimes on an old wall or bank of earth, or even on
the ridge of a low thatched shed in the fields ; the materials employed
being dry grass and roots. The eggs, 4-5 in number, vary from
greyish-white distinctly spotted with brown and violet-grey, to green-
ish-grey mottled with olive-brown : average measurements -95 by '68
in. Incubation, in which the male takes part, lasts a fortnight. The
Crested Lark is a tame and conspicuous bird, frequenting sandy
roads in which it is fond of dusting itself — and running with great
rapidity, while I have often seen it glide beneath a horse when at a
slow walk, rather than take wing. Its flight is undulating and
resembles that of the Woodlark. It is not gregarious, and is gener-
ally seen singly, or in pairs and family parties. The short but rather
liquid and melodious song of the male is generally uttered on the
ground, though often during a short flight, and occasionally from a
bush ; the note may be syllabled as ‘ coo-hai,’ The young are fed
on insects and their larvae, but seeds and grain form the principal
food of this species, and in snow'y weather it may be seen examin-
ing horse-droppings &c.

The general colour of the upper parts is greyish-brown with
darker streaks, and often with a sandy tint ; while the under parts are
huffish- white, with dark streaks on the gorget, and pale brown mark-
ings on the flanks. The characteristics of this species are the long,
pointed crest, large bastard primary , orange-tawny hue of the under
side of the wing and inner portion of the quill-feathers , and the
absence of white from the tail — the feathers of which are tawmy-brown
and black. Owing to the shortness of its tail and wrings the dimen-
sions—length 675 in., wing 4-1 in.— are less than those of the
Skylark. The female is slightly smaller and darker than the male ;
the young have the feathers of the upper parts broadly margined
with white and buff, and fewer spots on the breast.

ALAUDIMi.

245

THE SHORT-TOED LARK.

Alauda brachydactyla, Leisler.

The Short-toed Lark is a rare wanderer to England at the seasons
of migration, and the authenticated instances of its occurrence
appear to be : — one near Shrewsbury, two near Brighton, one near
Southampton, one on the Scilly Islands, and one near Cambridge
— all in autumn ; while a bird was killed near Brighton in April 1858
by a person who saw it alight and begin dusting itself in the road.
On July 27th 1888, Mr. Cooper, the taxidermist, of Radnor Street,
E.C., showed me a live bird said to have been taken at Amberley,
Sussex, on the 1 8th of that month.

Although this species has been recorded from Heligoland, it can
only be considered a straggler to Northern or even Central Germany,
to Belgium, and to France north of Paris ; but at Blois Sir Edward
Newton found it breeding, and it is a regular summer-visitant to
the districts further south, although said to emigrate in winter. In
the Spanish Peninsula it is abundant and — in the southern portions
at least — stationary ; it is so also in North-western Africa, but in
the north-east, as far south as Abyssinia, it is only found in winter
and on passage, when it is very numerous and in large flocks.
To Italy, again, it is only a summer-visitor, although abundant in
the south, but in Malta it is a resident, and it is found more or
less throughout the year in Greece, Turkey, Southern Russia,
Asia Minor and Palestine ; while further east we trace it to Persia,

SHORT-TOED J.ARK.

246

Turkestan, and the northern half of India. This Lark is one of a
group of nearly allied species which have been justifiably placed
in the genus Cala?idre!la, characterized by the absence of crest,
a stout conical bill, straight and short hind-toe, and by the infini-
tesimal—almost invisible— bastard primary. I have not, however,
considered it expedient to use this genus at the head of the present
article, when treating of a mere wanderer in a work for British
readers. Several of its congeners are found over part of the same
area as the typical Short-toed Lark ; for instance, Calajidrclla beetica
in the extreme south of Spain, C. minor in North Africa and the
Canaries, and C. pispoletta in the steppe-region between the Volga
and China ; but these three are still more closely related to one
another than to our bird, being distinctly marked with numerous
dark brown streaks on the throat and breast, as the Skylark is ; their
eggs> moreover, are creamy-white with bold spots.

1 he nest is placed on the ground in any slight cavity, very often
in a deep hoof-print; dry grass, with a few feathers and hair as
a lining, forming the materials. The eggs, 4-5 in number, are dull
white, mottled and freckled with greyish-brown : average measure-
ments 75 by -57 in. During the breeding-season the bird frequents
dry and sandy soil, and plains where the herbage is somewhat
scanty ; while its tameness is such as often to cause difficulty in
shooting a specimen for identification without blowing it to pieces,
and I have seen a bird cut down with a whip in the road. The
male utters his short and rather feeble song while perched on some
clod or low wall, or during a brief, undulating, and somewhat jerky
flight. In autumn and winter large flocks are formed, and in India,
according to Jerdon, they quite darken the air. The food consists
principally of small seeds.

lhe adult has the upper parts pale rufous-brown with darker
streaks ; a white line over each eye ; central tail-feathers dusky-
brown, the rest blackish-brown, except the outer pair which are
broadly margined with buffish-white ; under parts white, with a few
brown spots and streaks on the sides of the neck, and a buffish tinge
on the breast and flanks. After the moult both upper and under parts
have a warm rufous tint, which is sometimes retained until the middle
of the following May. Length 5^5 in. ; wing 3*4 in. The sexes
are alike in plumage ; the young bird has the feathers of the upper
parts, including the tail, broadly margined and tipped with buff.

I he short and conical bill is yellowish-brown ; the legs pale brown ;
the hind claw straight and, as a rule, short, but it is subject to con-
siderable variation.

ALAUDID.'E.

247

WHITE-WINGED LARK.

Alauda sibIrica, J. F. Gmelin.

An example of this Eastern species, which had been captured
alive on Nov. 22nd 1869, when associating with a flock of Snow-
Buntings, was recognized the same day by che late Mr. G. Dawson
Rowley and subsequently exhibited at a meeting of the Zoological
Society. It proved to be a female, and is now in the collection of
Mr. T. J. Monk of Lewes.

An occasional visit from the White-winged Lark is not surprising,
for three specimens have already been obtained in Belgium : one in
October 1855 near Liege, another at Malines (or Mechlin) in
1856, and a third more recently near Namur. On Heligoland one
was taken on August 2nd 1881 ; and although its occurrence is not
yet authenticated in Northern Germany its visits to Poland and
Galizia are not unfrequent, while stragglers have been recorded —
always on the autumn migration — from Trent in Tyrol, and Verona
and Bergamo in Italy. On the black-earth plains of Russia as far
north as Saratov on the Volga it is a common breeding species,
visiting Southern Russia and portions of Turkey in winter; while
eastward we trace it through the Kirghis steppes as far as the Altai
Mountains, and up to Omsk on the Irtish in Siberia ; it is also
found in Turkestan.

248

WHITE-WINGED LARK.

Ihe nest, generally built early in May, is placed on the ground
under a tussock of grass, and the eggs, 3-5 in number, are yellowish-
white, spotted and mottled with several shades of brown and
violet-grey : average measurements -95 by -65 in. In Russia the bird
does not arrive until the grass is green, and, according to Eversmann,
prefers those portions of the steppes which are most clothed with
herbage , while I alias, who was the first to observe this species on
the banks of the Irtish, describes it as frequenting the road-sides and
uttering its song similar to that of the Skylark but shorter — when
hovering at a moderate height from the ground. During the cold
season it is found in large flocks and is very tame. The food is
probably similar to that of other Larks.

1 ne adult male has the top of the head and ear-coverts pale
chestnut; lores and eye-stripe dull white; back tawny-brown with
dark stripes down the centre of each feather ; upper wing-coverts
chestnut, the greater rufous-brown ; outer primaries dark brown, the
inner ones and the secondaries chiefly white, forming a large and
conspicuous bar or patch ; tail-coverts, and the central tail-feathers
broadly edged with chestnut, the outer pair of tail-feathers white,
the rest dark brown with white or pale margins ; under parts white,
with brown and rufous spots on the throat, gorget and flanks ;
under wing-coverts white ; bill horn-colour ; legs yellowish-brown.
Length 7 '5 in. ; wing 4^6 in. The female is rather smaller and
exhibits hardly any tinge of rufous on her brown-streaked crown,
and but little on the wings, tail or breast. After the autumn moult
the plumage is tinged with buff. The young resemble the female.
The stout bill, chestnut tint, white wing-patch, and white under
wing-coverts are sufficiently distinctive of this species.

Two examples of the Calandra Lark, Alauda calandra, said to
have been killed in England, have been recognized in the shops of
bird-stuffers at Devonport and Exeter respectively ; but the evidence
is not sufficient to warrant the introduction to the British list of a
species which is very tolerant of confinement, and is one of the
commonest cage-birds in Spain and Italy.

The White-winged, Calandra, and other stout-billed Larks have
been placed in several genera, the favourite one being Melano-
corypha ; but that name is, at best, misleading, for the Calandra,
which is the type, has not a black crown, nor would it be easy to
define the characters which distinguish the genus from Calandrella.

AT.AUDID/E.

249

THE SHORE-LARK.

Ot6corys alpestris (Linnaeus).

The Shore-Lark was first noticed as a visitor to England in
March 1830, when one was obtained on the coast of Norfolk ; since
which date it has occurred at irregular and sometimes long intervals
on the eastern and southern shores of England, but seldom on the
west side. In the winter of 1869-70 a considerable visitation took
place, chiefly along the east coast ; and from that time onwards,
especially in 1882-83, its numbers have considerably increased. The
majority have been observed in autumn and winter, but examples
have been obtained on the spring migration northward as late as
April 22nd (Aplin). In Scotland, where it was not noticed until
1859, it has occurred as far north as St. Andrews on the east coast,
but not on the west ; while from Ireland it is as yet unrecorded.

The present species — a member of a well-defined and widely-
distributed genus — inhabits during the summer the northern, or the
elevated regions above the limits of forest-growth, in Scandinavia,
Finland, Russia (including Novaya Zemlya), and Siberia beyond the
Arctic circle, reaching as far east as Bering Straits. On migration
it occurs irregularly throughout the greater part of Europe, and
occasionally down to the Black and Mediterranean Seas, although
it is not recorded up to the present from the Spanish Peninsula ;
eastward it is found in Turkestan, Southern Siberia and Northern
China. The district between Asia Minor and the Altai Mountains is
inhabited by a recognizable species, O. penicillata, in which the black

25°

SHORE-LARK.

on the ear-coverts joins the black on the throat; while a paler
Tibetan form has been distinguished as 0. longirostris. In the desert
region between Morocco and Arabia Petrtea, we find a resident,
well-marked, tawny species, O. bilopha. Our bird is found in
Greenland and the eastern portions of Arctic America, but the re-
mainder of that continent is distributed by American trinomialists
among no fewer than seven subspecies ; and O. peregrma inhabits
the high lands of Bogotd, Colombia.

I he nest, slightly made of grass and plant-stalks, with willow-
down and reindeer-hair for a lining, is placed in some hollow of
the ground, or among stones on a hillside. The eggs, 4-5 in
number, are greenish-white, minutely freckled and often boldly
zoned with olive-brown, and occasionally scrolled with black hair-
lines : average measurements -9 by '63 in. In Norway and Lapland
breeding often begins by the middle of May, two broods being pro-
duced during the season. In autumn small flocks are formed, which
rove about in search of food, principally seeds, though in summer
beetles and other insects are eaten ; the Shore-Lark is also partial
to the small molluscs and crustaceans found on the sea-shore. It
is a tame and confiding species, frequently entering the streets
of towns and villages in the north of Europe, and up to the end
of June it utters its pleasant and rather mellow song from some
post, rail or barn-top, or while hovering in the air.

The adult male has the lores and cheeks black ; forehead, throat,
and a broad stripe above the eye and enclosing the ear-coverts
yellowish-white ; across the front of the crown a black band, termi-
nating in an erectile tuft of black feathers on each side of the
head ; nape and mantle pinkish-brown ; wing-coverts tipped with
white, quills brown ; middle tail-feathers warm brown, the rest
nearly black, with whitish margins to the outer pair; upper breast
broadly banded with black ; under parts dull white with brown
streaks on the flanks; bill greyish-black; legs black. Length 6 '5
to 7 in. ; wing about q'q in. The female is smaller, with less black
on the head ; the erectile tufts are wanting; and her general colour
is duller. The young male resembles the female ; the nestling is
dark brown mottled with buff, but the black ear-patches are con-
spicuous. After the moult the feathers on the head in the adults
are much tinged with yellow.

CYPSELID.it:.

25 1

THE SWIFT.

Cypselus apus (Linnaeus).

The Swifts, with which we enter upon the Order Picari/E,
were formerly placed among the Passeres, united with or close to
the Swallows; but it is now generally admitted that in spite of a
certain similarity in habits and appearance, the Swifts have as little
structural affinity with the latter as with any other Passerine family,
their nearest allies being the Humming-Birds. Having no true
song-muscles their note is a harsh scream ; and their powerful wings
are so long — while the feet with the four toes directed forwards and
well adapted for clinging, are so small — as to render walking diffi-
cult; but, contrary to the popular belief, the birds are able to raise
themselves from the ground.

The Swift, often called " Screecher ’ and ‘ Deviling,’ is a common
summer-visitor to the British Islands, making its appearance in the
south towards the end of April, and in the north somewhat later.
The majority have taken their departure by the end of August,
but even so far north as Nairn I noticed that many remained
until the 21st of that month, and laggards have been recorded in
the south-west as late as October and even November. To the

252

SWIFT.

extreme north of Scotland it is somewhat irregular in its visits, and
it is only seen occasionally in the Orkneys and Shetlands ; while on
the west side it is of rare occurrence in Skye and in the Outer
Hebrides, including St. Kilda. To Ireland it is a regular visitor,
and though said to be rare in some parts of the west, it is common
in Mayo and Sligo.

To the Faeroes the Swift is only a straggler, but it is found in
Scandinavia up to 70° N. lat., and in Russia as far as Archangel ;
in Siberia it has occurred at Omsk, and breeds regularly in Daiiria,
Mongolia, Northern China, and Asia generally to the north of the
Himalayas and other great ranges. On migration it visits the Punjab
and even the Andaman Islands, but from India westward to the
Jordan valley the resident species is the white-rumped C. affinis ;
while in Northern Africa our bird is either associated with or repre-
sented by C. pallidus, also found in Southern Spain and in the
Canaries ; the latter group being further occupied by the smaller
and darker C. unicolor. Throughout Europe the Swift is abundant
in summer, often arriving in the sunny south early in March, though
not till June in Lapland ; while its migrations extend to the extreme
south of Africa.

Holes in thatch under the eaves of cottages and other buildings,
in church towers, crevices in sea-cliffs, quarries, chalk-pits, and even
trees, are the sites selected by the Swift for its breeding-place, to
which it returns year after year. A few bits of straw and grass, with
feathers, collected on the wing, and glued together by the viscous
secretions of the bird, form its usual nest, but it sometimes robs
Martins, House-Sparrows and even Starlings of their dwellings.
The eggs, laid early in June, are 2 in number, and when more are
found in the same nest, they are probably the produce of two
females ; they are oval, rough in texture, and dead-white : average
measurements 1 in. by ‘65 in. Incubation lasts eighteen days, and
as a rule only one brood is produced during the season ; backward
young being abandoned by their parents when the time arrives for
emigration. Insects taken on the wing form the food, and the in-
digestible portions are rejected in the shape of pellets. The wild,
screeching note is sometimes quite startling, when uttered by a flock
of birds sweeping by at lightning speed, and often in the worst of
weather, for the Swift seems to revel in the storm.

The plumage of the adults is a bronzed blackish-brown, with a
small greyish patch under the chin ; bill, toes and claws black.
Length to the tip of the tail 6'5 in. ; wing 7 in. The young have
more white on the throat, and paler margins to the feathers.

CYPSELI D/K.

253

THE ALPINE SWIFT.

Cypselus m£lba (Linnaeus).

This large Swift was first noticed as one of our occasional visitors
about midsummer 1829, when one was shot off the coast of Ire-
land ; and since that time three or four more have been obtained,
at long intervals, in that island. Nearly a score of instances are on
record from various parts of England — mostly from the southern
half, but though one of them occurred as far north as Alnmouth in
Northumberland, no captures have as yet been made in Scotland.
With the exception of one taken near Dublin in March 1833, the
occurrences noted have been between June and October, and for
several reasons, coupled with the fact that I have obtained it in the
Bay of Biscay early in August, I think that most of our visitors are
from the Pyrenees or the Cantabrian range.

The Alpine Swift is a very rare visitor to Heligoland, Germany,
and the north of France, although it breeds no further off than
the cliffs at Nolay on the western frontier of Burgundy ; also in the
Vosges and Savoy. Throughout Switzerland it nests annually, in
high crags and in lofty towers — notably in the cathedral at Berne ;
arriving at the end of April and leaving in September or October.
All the high mountain ranges of Central and Southern Europe are
frequented by it during the summer ; while eastward we trace it,
through Asia Minor, Palestine, Persia and Turkestan, to many parts
of India. In the cold season, and indeed during a considerable
portion of the year, it is found in Ceylon ; also in suitable situations

254

ALPINE SWIFT.

down to the extreme south of Africa, where it is supposed, though
not yet proved, to breed.

Mr. S. B. Wilson has described the nests in the cathedral at
Berne as placed on the ledge which goes round the tower about
four feet below the main floor ; sometimes there were three or four
in the space of three yards, all placed on the same beam. The struc-
ture itself is very shallow, and is made of dry leaves, bits of paper,
grass stems, fir-bark, and a few feathers; the whole being made
fairly solid by the mucous fluid which the bird emits. I believe that
the eggs are normally 2 in number, but as 3 and 4 are sometimes
found, perhaps two birds lay in the same nest ; the colour is dead-
white : average measurements i'2 by 77 in. The Rev. H. A. Mac-
pherson says that he noticed some green grass in many of the nests.
Mr. Wilson considers that the male and female take turns in the
duties of incubation, for as he was watching a bird on its nest
another suddenly dashed in under the roof and began to caress
it, and after both had twisted their heads about and rubbed each
other’s cheeks with open bills, the sitting bird rolled itself off the
nest and vanished, while the other took its place. Only one brood
is reared in the season. The food consists of insects. The note is
louder than that of the Common Swift, and the flight is more power-
ful ; while the large size, browner colour and white belly are dis-
tinctive characters.

Excepting a blackish patch in front of the eye, the upper parts,
sides of the neck, gorget, and under tail-coverts are of a nearly
uniform mouse-brown, with a metallic lustre on the wing- and tail-
feathers ; throat and belly white ; bill black ; feet yellowish-brown ;
length from bill to end of tail nearly 8 in. ; wing 8'5 in. The sexes
are alike in plumage. In the young the feathers are slightly mar-
gined with greyish-white.

The vignette below represents the breastbone and foot of the
Common Swift.

CYPSELIDyE.

255

THE NEEDLE-TAILED SWIFT.

Acanthyllis CAUDActiTA (Latham).

An example of this Asiatic species was shot at Great Horkesley,
near Colchester, on July 8th 1846, having frequented that neigh-
bourhood for two days, and was examined in the flesh by Doubleday
and Yarrell. The latter, however, did not include it in his ‘ British
Birds,’ being probably under the impression — then generally preva-
lent—that the species was a native of Australia, to which it is now
known to be merely a winter-visitor. On July 26th or 27th, 1879,
another was obtained near Ringwood, in Hampshire, having for a
few days before been seen flying with a companion over the river
Avon by Mr. Corbin, on whose behalf the specimen was exhibited
by Professor Newton at a meeting of the Zoological Society.

This fine Swift has not yet been noticed in any other part of
Europe, and its western breeding-limits are probably in the moun
tarns to the south of Krasnoiarsk in the upper valley of the Yenesei
whence Mr. Seebohm has received specimens. During the summer
it inhabits South-eastern Siberia, Mongolia, Manchuria, Japan, and

256

NEEDLE-TAILED SWIFT.

the mountainous regions of China, Tibet, and the eastern Hima-
layas; while in the cold season it migrates southwards as far as
Eastern Australia and Tasmania. It is said to return to its breeding-
quarters about the end of April or early in May ; departing for the
south in August and September ; and General Prjevalsky has
described its bands as passing over-head in an almost incessant
stream at the time of the autumn migration in Mongolia.

Several pairs are stated by the above-mentioned Russian explorer
to breed in close proximity, the nests being placed in cliffs and in
hollow trees ; but nothing is as yet known of its eggs, which are
probably white. The food consists of insects ; the note is described
as feeble ; while all observers agree in eulogizing the unrivalled
vigour of the bird’s flight. Gould remarks that the keel of the
breast in this species is more than ordinarily deep, and that the pec-
toral muscles are more developed than in any bird of its weight
with which he was acquainted.

The adult has the forehead dull white ; crown, nape and sides of
the head dusky-black with a greenish gloss ; back dusky-brown,
paler in the middle ; wing-coverts and secondaries bottle-green ;
inner secondaries chiefly white on the inner webs; primaries
blackish ; tail-feathers bottle-green with projecting spinous shafts ;
throat, breast and under tail-coverts white ; belly sooty-brown ;
lower flanks white, mixed with glossy blue-black ; bill black ; legs
and feet dark brown, with one claw directed backwards, in which
respect birds of this genus differ from the true Swifts. Length
8 -5 ; wing 8-i in.

The vignette below represents the head and foot of the Nightjar,
the next species.

CAPRIMULGID^E.

257

THE NIGHTJAR.

CaprimijLGUs europ.4:us, Linnaeus.

The Nightjar is the latest of our regular summer migrants in its
arrival, being seldom noticed before the middle of May ; and it
usually leaves us in September, although in the mild south-west of
England it has been known to remain until November. Unculti-
vated ground more or less covered with ferns, and the cool shade
of woodland glades, are its favourite haunts, and it is consequently
somewhat local ; but it is generally distributed as far as the northern
extremity of the mainland of Scotland, and also in the western
islands, except the Outer Hebrides, to which, as to the Orkneys and
Shetlands, it is only a straggler. In Ireland it is rather common in
some of the southern and central counties, but less frequent in the
north and west.

The Nightjar sometimes visits the Faeroes, and in Scandinavia it
has been found nesting up to about 63° N. lat. ; but in Russia its
range is less extensive, while eastward it does not reach beyond
Irkutsk in Siberia. This bird is found throughout the summer over
the greater part of Europe, down to the high grounds of Central
Spain ; but in the south of that country, although common on pas-
sage, I do not think that it remains to breed, its place being taken

NIGHTJAR.

258

by the Red-necked Nightjar, C. ruficollis. One of its lines of
migration from Africa crosses Malta, where large numbers are shot
for the table in spring. It also visits Asia Minor, Palestine, Persia,
Turkestan — where its plumage shows a tendency to paleness — and
North-western India. Small numbers are said to remain in North
Africa during the winter, at which season it occurs in Arabia, and,
apparently, throughout South Africa down to Natal.

The eggs, 2 in number, are placed on the bare ground or short
moss, and often on dead gorse-needles in open patches among furze.
They are oblong, equally rounded at each end ; and are creamy-
white, marbled and veined in endless variety with brownish-black
and purplish-grey: average measurements i'2 by ‘85 in. Fresh eggs
have been found as late as August 12th. I lie nestlings are at first
covered with a thick greyish down and have been known to display
a precocious activity approaching that of the young of Gallinaceous
and other ground-breeding birds ; but they are dependent upon their
parents for food, and do not attempt to feed themselves in confine-
ment. The Nightjar lives entirely upon insects, which it may be
seen to take upon the wing in the twilight or when the moon is
shining, though it hawks for them on dark nights as well ; it is not,
however, averse to light and is fond of basking in places where the
rays of the sun fall. The whirring which accompanies its twisting
flight is caused by the wings, which are sometimes brought into con-
tact and produce a loud noise ; but the well-known, vibrating churr
is believed to be uttered by the male only, and while the bird is
stationary. When reposing on a branch it sits lengthways, with the
head lower than the body. The use of the serrated claw has yet to
be determined. From early times and in almost every European
language the Nightjar has been stigmatized by some name equiva-
lent to ‘Goat-sucker/ while in England the equally unfortunate
designation of ‘ Night-hawk ’ brings it under the ban of the game-
keeper ; it is also called ‘ Fern-owl,’ and ‘ Churn-owl.

In the adult male the general plumage is ashy-grey, streaked,
spotted and barred with dark brown and reddish-buff; on the throat
are some white patches ; near the centre of each of the three outer
primaries are well-developed white spots ; and the two lateral pairs
of tail-feathers are broadly tipped with white. These white spots on
the wings and tail are wanting in the female, and her tints are less

rufous. Length about 10 in. ; wing 7‘25 in- In the y°ung l'ie
serration of the claw of the middle toe is not pronounced, and the
wing- and tail-spots in the male have a huffish tint.

CAPRI M ULGI D/K.

259

THE RED-NECKED NIGHTJAR.

Caprimulgus rufic6llis, Temminck.

A freshly-killed example of this southern species was recognized
in the flesh by that eminent ornithologist Mr. John Hancock, in
the shop of Mr. Pape, at Newcastle, on October 6th 1856. It was
stated to have been shot the previous day at Killingworth, and is
now in the Newcastle Museum.

Up to the present time the Red-necked Nightjar has not been
noticed elsewhere in Northern Europe, but in Languedoc and Pro-
vence, in the south-east of France, it has several times been
obtained. Though not yet recorded from the mainland of Italy,
one was taken at Spalato, in Dalmatia, in March 1S75, and Mr.
C. A. Wright has mentioned two captures in Malta during May,
in different years. In summer it is common in the southern half
of the Spanish Peninsula, where it frequents the cool chequered
shade of the woods during the greater part of the day ; it is also
said to be a regular visitor to some of the Canary Islands, while
eastward it is found throughout North Africa as far as Tunis.

The eggs, 2 in number, are placed on the bare ground, and
resemble those of our Common Nightjar; on an average they are
less boldly marked, and a trifle larger, as might be expected from
the superior size of the bird. I am not aware of any distinctive
points deserving of mention as regards the food and habits.

In general pattern of coloration the Red-necked Nightjar resem-
bles the preceding species, but its tint is paler, and more rufous on
the wings and under parts ; a conspicuous tawny collar encircles the
head, and the throat exhibits large white patches ; the white spots
on the three outer primaries increase in size with the age of the
bird, and are small and tinged with buff in the young. They are
found in both sexes, and I cannot perceive any difference in plumage
between the male and female ; the outer pairs of tail-feathers are
broadly tipped with white. Length nearly 12 in. ; wing 7-8 in.

It has not been considered necessary to give an illustration of
this species, as a wood-cut would fail to render its distinctive charac-
ters. There are coloured illustrations of it in Gould’s' ‘ Birds of
Great Britain,’ and in Mr. Dresser’s ‘ Birds of Europe.’

x 2

2 6o

CAPRIMULGIDyE.

THE EGYPTIAN NIGHTJAR.

Caprimulcus yEGYPTius, Lichtenstein.

On June 23rd 1883 a gamekeeper in the employ of Mr. J.
Whitaker, of Rainworth Lodge, near Mansfield in Nottinghamshire,
shot a Nightjar, the light colour of which attracted his attention;
and on his mentioning the fact to his master who takes a special in-
terest in albinisms and pale varieties, the bird, which had meanwhile
undergone very rough treatment and then been thrown aside, was
carefully inspected. When submitted to competent authorities it
proved to be an example of the Egyptian or Isabelline Nightjar
(Zool. 1883, p. 374).

The occurrence of this south-eastern species in Europe is not un-
precedented, Mr. Seebohm having discovered in the shop of the
principal bird-stuffer in Heligoland, a specimen (now in the collec-
tion of Mr. Gatke) shot on June 22nd 1875, which had been passed
over as a pale variety of the Common Nightjar. Subsequently
Professor Giglioli recognized three examples in the Museum of the
University of Malta, obtained in 1876 ; and in Sicily a bird which
was probably an Egyptian Nightjar was shot at Girgenti, while an
undoubted specimen was obtained at Modica in 1879. Its breed-
ing-places are the sandy parts of Turkestan, Baluchistan, Egypt and
Nubia ; its winter-quarters appear to be still further south.

The eggs, 2 in number as is usual in this family, are described by
Von Heuglin as smaller, paler and more yellow in tint than those
of our well-known species, and are placed in a mere depression
in the sand or under a low, stunted bush. The old bird sits very
closely and rises unwillingly, often running along with puffed-out
throat from one bush to another, uttering meanwhile a curious note.
Captain Shelley found flocks in Egypt in spring and autumn, and
it would appear that the sexes separate on migration.

The plumage of the adult is sandy-grey finely marked with black,
the pattern being generally the same as in the Common Nightjar ;
there are, however, no white spots on the upper surface of the tail
or wings, but the inside webs of the primaries are pure white.
Length io's in. ; wing 8-i in.

For the reasons mentioned on the preceding page, I have not
considered it expedient to give a wood-cut of this species; it is
well figured in Mr. Dresser’s ‘ Birds of Europe,’ vol. iv. pi. 262.

IYNGIN/E.

261

THE WRYNECK.

Iynx TORQufLLA, Linnoeus.

This bird resembles the Nightjars in its delicately pencilled
plumage, though allied to the Woodpeckers by its anatomical struc-
ture. It is a regular spring-visitor to England, sometimes arriving
in the south by the middle of March, though usually about the first
half of April ; for this reason it is often called ‘ Cuckoo’s-mate ’ or
‘-leader ’ : names which have their equivalent in several European
languages. In the south-eastern counties it is more numerous than
in the west, and it is rare in Wales ; Lancashire has seldom been
visited by it of late years, and to Cumberland it is now merely a
straggler ; in Yorkshire and Durham it is very local, and it becomes
rare in Northumberland. Statements that it has nested in Scotland
require confirmation, but at intervals it has been known to wander
as far north as Caithness, the Orkneys, and the Shetlands; also to
the Faeroes. In Ireland it was taken in co. Waterford in the sum-
mer of 1878, and on the Arran Islands, off Galway Bay, on October
6th 1886. By the latter part of September it has usually left
England for the south, but Mr. A. H. Upcher asserts that he saw
and heard one in Norfolk on January 1st 1884.

In Scandinavia and Finland the Wryneck has been found up to

262

WRYNECK.

about 64° N. lat., and in Russia it visits Archangel ; but across
Siberia to Kamschatka its range does not extend so far north. In
summer it inhabits the Japanese islands, as well as suitable localities
on the mainland of Asia down to the Himalayas and the Altai
Mountains ; while in the cold season it visits India and Burma.
In Africa its winter-quarters extend to Kordofan, but it appears
probable that a limited number go no further than Algeria ; some
may even remain in the south of Europe, where, however, the
bird is chiefly known on passage ; while in summer it is generally
distributed over the rest of the Continent.

Unlike the Woodpeckers, the Wryneck does not excavate a nest-
ing-place for itself, but about the middle of May it makes use of
any convenient hole in a tree, at no great height; occasionally
in an earth-cutting or sandbank. The eggs are usually from 7-10
in number, but the bird has been induced to go on laying, until in
a case recorded by Mr. Frank Norgate, the maximum of 42 was
reached ; they are pure white, rather larger, less glossy, and thinner
in shell than those of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker : average
measurements ’8 by ’6 in. When disturbed, the sitting bird
makes a loud hissing, calculated to induce the belief that a snake is
concealed in the hole — a practice wrhich has led to the popular name
of ‘ Snake-bird ’ ; it also erects the feathers of the head, twisting its
neck about in a way which is equally characteristic of the above
name, and when taken in the hand it will often feign death. Its
loud note, which somewhat resembles that of a Kestrel, and may be
syllabled as qui, qui, qui, or pay, pay, pay , is heard from the time of
the bird’s arrival until midsummer. The food consists almost
entirely of insects — many of them obtained on the tninks and
branches of trees — but chiefly of ants and their pupae, which the bird
seeks on the ground, shooting with marvellous velocity its long, re-
tractile, vermiform tongue (covered w'ith a glutinous secretion) into
ant-hills ; in autumn it is said to eat elder-berries. In its habits the
Wryneck is skulking and unobtrusive; its flight is short and undulating.

The general colour of the upper parts is greyish-white, mottled
wdth brow'nish-grey, and streaked on the nape, back and scapulars
with brownish-black ; wing-feathers dark brown with buff bars on
the outer webs ; tail-feathers soft at the tips, greyish-brown barred
w'ith black ; throat warm buff with narrow' black bars ; breast and
flanks dull w'hite with small spots and bars. Length 7 in. ; wing
3 -4 in. The female is rather smaller and duller in plumage than
the male ; the young are more strongly marked with blackish-brown
on the under parts.

PICIN/E.

263

THE GREEN WOODPECKER.

G£cinus v f r i d i s (Linnaeus).

This largest and best known of our British Woodpeckers occurs
in most of the wooded districts of England as far as Derbyshire
and the south of Yorkshire, north of which it becomes rare ;
and is only occasionally found breeding in Durham, Northumber-
land and Cumberland. Across the Solway it is said to have
been killed in Kirkcudbrightshire, but other records from Scot-
land require confirmation. In Ireland — where all the Wood-
peckers are uncommon — this species has only twice been obtained
up to the present time. Even in England it is often unaccount-
ably local ; and while in some districts it has decreased of late
years without any assignable reason, it has, on the other hand,
recently become diffused in every direction about the Land’s-End
district in the extreme west of Cornwall, without reference to tree
or woodlands (Rodd).

In Norway the Green Woodpecker breeds in the forests up to
about 63° N. lat. ; but in Sweden and in the islands of the Baltic it
does not range so far north ; again in Russia it is very rare about

264

GREEN WOODPECKER.

St. Petersburg, nor is it common in the forests of the central pro-
vinces, but this or a subspecies is abundant in the Caucasus. In
Denmark it is scarce, and in Heligoland it has only once been
taken ; but southward it is generally distributed throughout the rest
of Europe down to Turkey, as well as in Asia Minor and North
Persia ; in Greece, however, it is very local ; in Sardinia and Corsica
it is unknown ; and in Sicily it is rare, although common on the
mainland of Italy. In the Pyrenees it is abundant, but in Portugal
and the southern half of Spain — and probably throughout the
whole of the Peninsula — the representative species is the grey-faced
G. s/iarpii, which unites our bird to G. vaillanti of North Africa
(with no red on the moustache of the male), and, less closely, to
G. canus of the Continent (the male of which has little red on the
head, while the female has none).

Early in April a neat circular hole is hewn in a trunk or branch,
generally of some tree whose wood, like that of the beech, is soft,
though not necessarily decayed; the excavation running horizontally
till the heart is reached, and then turning downwards for a short dis-
tance, when it is enlarged to form a suitable receptacle for the eggs,
from 5-7 in number. These are of a pure glossy white, slightly pyri-
form in shape: average measurements i-3 by ’88 in. The discarded
chips of wood are rarely removed from the vicinity, and often serve
to indicate the position of the nest ; new holes being usually made
every season, while those of former years are used as sleeping-
places. The note most frequently heard is the loud laughing
pleu , pleu , pleu , popularly supposed to foretell rain, for which reason
‘ Rainbird ’ is a common name in some parts ; as are ‘ Yaffle ’ and
‘ Woodweele.’ In search of timber-haunting beetles, spiders and
other insects, this Woodpecker may be seen climbing obliquely up
some trunk or branch with short jerking movements, assisted by the
stiff-pointed feathers of the tail, until, on arriving at the top, it
passes with dipping flight to some other tree ; it also feeds to a
great extent on ants in summer, and on other ground-insects
during the great part of the year, while it has been said to eat nuts
and acorns.

The upper plumage of the male is chiefly olive-green, shading into
yellow on the rump ; under parts pale greyish-green ; crown, nape and
moustaches crimson; lores and cheeks black. Length 12 in.; wing
6-4 in. The female has less crimson on the head, and the mous-
taches are black. In the young the under parts are barred ; the
nestling is mottled on the back and profusely spotted with arrow-
headed markings on the under parts.

PICIN^E.

265

GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER.

Dendrocopus major (Linnaeus).

The Great Spotted Woodpecker is often supposed to be rarer
than it really is, in consequence of its retiring nature and its habit
of confining itself to the higher branches of trees, but nowhere in
the British Islands can it be considered abundant. It is, however,
fairly distributed throughout the wooded portions of England, and
though naturally rare in the treeless parts of Cornwall, and scarce in
Wales, it is not unfrequent in many of the southern and midland
counties. North of Yorkshire it becomes rare as a breeding species,
and there is little evidence that it nests in Scotland at the present
day; but from the Shetlands southward, especially along the east
coast of Great Britain, it occurs irregularly on the autumn migra-
tion, sometimes in considerable numbers, as in 1861, 1862, 1868

and 1886. In Ireland it is not known to breed, but it has been

obtained at long intervals ; several were taken in the autumn of 1886
and one in February 1887.

This Woodpecker has wandered to the Faeroes, and is the only
member of the family which regularly visits Heligoland in autumn ;
doubtless on its migration from Scandinavia, where it breeds as far

north as the Arctic circle. In Russia it is common up to about

266

GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER.

64° N. lat. ; and — subject to an increase in the extent or purity of
white in its plumage which has given rise to the creation of several
questionably valid species— it can be traced across Siberia to the
Pacific and Japan. Between the Persian Gulf and the Mediter-
ranean other forms are observed, which show in addition a tendency
to develop a crimson band on the breast — a coloration which
reaches its highest point in D. numidicus of North Africa; but it
should be mentioned that Continental and even British examples
sometimes exhibit distinct signs of a red pectoral band. In the
Canaries our northern form was obtained by Mr. Godman.

The nesting-hole, smaller than that made by the preceding species,
is generally hacked out in a similar manner ; but, according to
good authorities, a natural cavity in a dead branch is sometimes
prolonged and utilized, and several holes are often cut out before
the bird is satisfied. The eggs, laid on the bare wood about the
middle of May, are 6-7 in number, creamy-white in colour, and in
shape rather less pyriform than those of the Green Woodpecker :
average measurements ‘98 by 75 in. Incubation, in which both
parents take part, lasts about a fortnight. In captivity it has been
noticed that this bird descends by a series of jerks with the tail
downwards, but the mode of progression usually observed in the
wild state is diagonally or spirally upwards. The food consists of
insects and their larvae, but in autumn the berries of the mountain-
ash, nuts, acorns &c. are eaten. The note is a sharp tchick, and some-
times a low, reiterated tra, but the male often makes a loud vibrating
noise by rapidly hammering with his bill on the bark of a tree.

In the male the general plumage of the upper parts is black ; the
forehead dull white ; cheeks and ear-coverts white ; nape crimson ;
scapulars white ; wing-feathers barred with white on the outer webs;
under parts dull white; vent crimson. Length 9^4 in. ; wing 5 ‘5 in.
The female is slightly smaller and has no red on the head. The
young of both sexes have the crown of the head red , and ignorance
.of this fact has led to the supposition that the Middle-spotted
Woodpecker, D. tnedius, had occurred in the British Islands.

A bird, supposed to be a specimen of the White-backed Wood-
pecker, D. leuconotus , was obtained in the Shetlands during the
migration of 1861, and figured by Gould ; but Professor Newton and
other authorities have pronounced it to be merely a slightly albes-
cent Great Spotted Woodpecker. An example of the American
Hairy Woodpecker, D. villosus, is said to have been obtained in
Yorkshire more than a century ago, and another in 1849.

PICIN/E.

267

THE LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER.

Dendrocopus minor (Linnaeus).

Owing to its small size and its partiality to tall trees, such as elms
and poplars, this little Woodpecker frequently escapes observation ;
but, though less widely distributed than the preceding species, it is
the more numerous of the two in many parts of the southern half
of England, being, in fact, rather common near London and along
the valley of the Thames, as well as in the western midlands. In
Yorkshire it becomes scarce and very local, while in Lancashire and
the northern counties it is extremely rare. In the Solway district
Mr. Service informs me that three examples have been obtained, at
long intervals, since i860, but in the rest of Scotland it is almost
unknown. In Ireland only six or seven instances are on record ;
none of them recent.

In Scandinavia the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker breeds as far north
as lat. 70°, while in Russia it is found up to Archangel and to lat. 67°
in the valleys of the Petchora and the Ob ; though eastward, to the
Pacific, its northerly range is rather less extensive. Forms which
vary slightly from the type are found in Kamschatka, Japan, and
Northern China, but their southern limits in Asia are as yet unde-
fined ; while in Asia Minor another occurs, and yet another in Algeria.
Throughout the greater part of Europe our race is generally dis-
tributed, but though common in Southern Russia and Turkey, vet

268

LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER.

in other parts of the south it is either comparatively rare or has been
overlooked. There also it is to a considerable extent a migrant,
but in the Azores, strange to say, it is a resident species.

The nest-hole is often made in the highest branches of poplars
and other tall trees, but sometimes at very moderate elevations in
oaks, chestnut- and fruit-trees, or even in pollard willows. The
eggs, laid about the middle of May, and usually 6-7 in number,
resemble those of the Wryneck; but their texture is more ivory-like,
and their colour more creamy-white, while in size they are slightly
smaller: average measurements 75 by 77 in. The food consists
almost entirely of timber-haunting insects. The usual note is an
often repeated keek, but the male further produces a vibrating noise
like that made by the preceding species. In its flight and general
habits this bird hardly differs from its congener, except perhaps in
its extreme restlessness.

The adult male has the forehead buff; crown of the head pale
crimson ; nape and moustache black ; cheeks white ; upper parts
black broadly barred with white; central tail-feathers black, the rest
black barred with white ; under parts buffish-white, with black
streaks on the flanks. Length about 5 ‘5 in. ; wing 375 in. In the
female the crown is whitish instead of crimson, and the under pqrts
are more striated. The young male has a crimson crown as in the
adult, but it is said that in the female only the fore part of the
head is red, and the black and white, chequerings of the back are
less pure.

The Rev. O. Pickard-Cambridge has a specimen of the North
American Downy Woodpecker, D. pubcscens, supposed to be a bird
which he shot at Bloxworth in Dorset, in December 1836 ; and an
example of this species has also been killed near Elbeuf, in Nor-
mandy ; American 4 Spotted Woodpeckers ’ are, however, known to
have been brought to Europe and turned loose more than a century
ago ( Cf Yarrell, 4th Ed., ii. p. 485). An American Golden-winged
Woodpecker, Colaptes auratus , is said to have been shot at Ames-
bury, Wilts, in 1836. As regards the Black Woodpecker, Pints
martins , Mr. J. H. Gurney jun. and Professor Newton have, I think,
conclusively shown that, in spite of its numerous recorded occur-
rences in the British Islands, there is not one sufficiently authen-
ticated to justify insertion. Donovan’s statement in 1809, that an
example of the Three-toed Woodpecker, Picoides tridactylus , had
lately been shot in the North of Scotland is unsubstantiated.

269

ALCEDINID/K.

THE KINGFISHER.

Alc£do ispida, Linnoeus.

The Kingfisher is resident and generally distributed throughout
Great Britain as far north as Sutherland, to which it is only a rare
visitor; it also occurs casually as far west as Skye. In Ireland,
according to Mr. More, it is found throughout the year, but chiefly
in the lowland districts. In few places can it be considered an
abundant species ; mainly owing to the fact that it is often shot on
account of its bright plumage, but partly to the value of its feathers
for dressing artificial flies. The banks of lakes, ponds, and streams
of all sizes — provided the current be not too rapid — or even the sea-
shore, especially on a rocky coast, are its usual haunts ; and there it
may frequently be seen darting in a straight line over the water, or
sitting patiently on some convenient perch, where it waits the oppor-
tunity for the sudden plunge by which it secures its prey.

Even in the southern portion of Scandinavia the Kingfisher is of
accidental occurrence, though known to have nested there on one
occasion ; and to Denmark it is merely a visitor, while in Russia it
is rarely found as far north as St. Petersburg. In Northern Germany
— where, from its habit of congregating on the ice round any open
water, it is known by the name of * Eisvogel’ — it is uncommon ; but

270

KINGFISHER.

southward we find it in suitable localities throughout Europe down
to the Mediterranean. It occurs in the Canaries and Madeira; in
Morocco and Algeria it is said to breed ; and it inhabits Egypt
during the winter. Further east, variations from the type are noticed :
examples from between Asia Minor and South-western Siberia have
been named A. pallasi , while those from further south, as far as the
Malay Archipelago, have been called A. bengalensis ; but the differ-
ences are very trifling.

For the nesting-place a hole in a bank is either bored or selected ;
generally near water, but sometimes in a dry sand-pit, and occasion-
ally in some crevice in a wall. It usually slopes upward from the
entrance, and at the end, upon the bare earth or upon a layer of
small fish bones, the roundish glossy-white eggs, 6-8 but sometimes
10 in number, are deposited : average measurements *9 by 75 in.
The young are known to have been out of the nest by March nth,
and they have been found inside as late as July 24th, so that two
broods are probably produced in some seasons. The food consists
of small crustaceans, insects such as dragon-flies and water-beetles,
minnows, sticklebacks, and the small fry of other fishes ; the
quantity consumed being extraordinary. In autumn the young are
driven by the parents from the nesting-place and become partially
migratory. The note is a shrill tit, tit , tit , somewhat like that of the
Common Sandpiper. The legends and superstitions relating to this
bird are too numerous for mention here.

The adult male has the moustache, head and wings dark greenish-
blue, slightly mottled ; lores and ear-coverts chestnut ; back azure-
blue; tail dark blue; throat white; under parts chestnut; bill black,
orange at the base; feet reddish-brown. Length 7-5; wing 3 in.
The female is slightly greener and duller ; the young bird further
differs in having a wholly black bill.

Two examples of the North-American Belted Kingfisher, Ccryle
alcyon , are, respectively, in the Museum of Science and Art, and in
Trinity College, Dublin. One of these is said to have been shot in
co. Meath on October 26th 1845, and the other in co. Wicklow the
following November. No other instance of the occurrence of
this species in Europe is known, nor has it been obtained in Green-
land or Iceland ; it seems, therefore, inexpedient to admit to the
British list an American bird which — assuming the accuracy of the
records — had probably escaped from confinement.

CORACIIDi*:.

27 I

THE ROLLER.

Coracias GARRULUS, Linnaeus.

This bright-plumaged bird was first recorded as a visitor to our
islands by Sir Thomas Browne, who described a specimen obtained
in Norfolk in May 1644. Since then, upwards of a hundred
examples have been noticed, chiefly on the southern and eastern
coasts of England and Scotland ; however, some have visited
the Orkneys and Shetlands, while on the west one has even
reached St. Kilda. In Ireland there have been five or six occur-
rences, at long intervals. The majority of its appearances in the
British Islands have been in the autumn, but a fair proportion
during the spring migration.

To the Faeroes and the north of Norway the Roller is only a
straggler, and it is scarce in any part of the latter country ; but in
Sweden it breeds annually up to about 6i° N. lat., and in Russia,
sparingly, as far north as St. Petersburg. In Northern Ger-
many it is not uncommon in summer, though rare in Denmark,
Holland, Belgium and Northern France; in Central Europe it
is tolerably abundant ; while in Spain and other countries bqrdering
the Mediterranean it is very numerous, arriving in the Peninsula
from the middle of March onwards, and leaving by November at
the latest. Eastward, it is plentiful in Turkey, Southern Russia,

ROLLER.

272

Asia Minor, 1 alestine, Persia, and temperate Asia generally, as far
north as Omsk in Siberia. Southward, we find it in Cashmere and
North-western India, where it meets with the closely-allied C. indicus,
the breast of which is vinous-purple instead of blue. In the north
of Africa it is common in summer, but even there it does not pass
the winter ; nor does it breed in Egypt, which it traverses on its
way to and from South Africa. During the cold season it inhabits
the lower half of that continent down to Cape Colony and Natal.

In wooded districts the nesting-place selected is some hollow in a
tree, but quite as often in the wall of a ruined fortress, or in a high
bank ; in the two latter a bedding of roots, grass, feathers and hair is
accumulated, but in trees the bare wood or at most a few chips suffice.
The eggs, often globular, but sometimes elongated, are glossy white
and usually 5-6 in number: average measurements 1 ‘4 by 1 ‘i in.
Incubation lasts nearly three weeks, commencing early or late in
May, according to the country. During the breeding-season the
male indulges in some extraordinary tumbling antics, turning somer-
saults ;n the air, and uttering a harsh cry which the Germans
syllable as ‘Racker-racker’ and the Spaniards as ‘ Carlanco-carlanco
at other times the bird is merely restless, flying from branch to
branch with flapping, uncertain flight ; like the Bee-eater, it may
frequently be seen sitting on telegraph-wires. The food consists of
beetles and other insects captured on the ground. On migration
the Roller is observed in large flocks.

The adult has the head and nape greenish-blue ; mantle chestnut-
brown ; upper wing-coverts dark blue ; greater wing-coverts and
bases of primaries light blue, quills black ; tail-feathers dark blue
at the bases and in the middle, and pale blue on the lower portions ;
chin white; under parts light blue ; bill dark horn-colour ; legs and
feet yellowish-brown. Length 12 in. ; wing 7-8 in. The sexes are
alike in plumage ; the young bird is much more dingy and less pro-
nounced in colour.

The late Dr. Bree has stated that a male of the Abyssinian Roller,
C. leucocephalns , was killed near Glasgow about 1857, and a female
later, some forty miles off ; the former was preserved by Mr. Small
of Edinburgh, and is said to be in the Paisley Museum. The story is
given, like many others, for what it is worth.

MER0P1D/E.

273

THE BEE-EATER.

M£rops apiAster, Linnseus.

The first British-killed Bee-eater on record was obtained in Nor-
folk in June 1793, and since that time over thirty examples have
been noticed south of Derbyshire in England, and Pembrokeshire
in Wales — chiefly on the spring migration. Further north its visits
have been very rare ; Mr. W. E. Clarke mentions a bird picked up
exhausted near Filey in Yorkshire on June 9th 188c ; and in
Scotland one was captured in October 1832 near the Mull of
Galloway, while two or three are said to have been taken in the
north-east of the country. In Ireland it has occurred five or six
times, chiefly in the south.

On the Continent its northerly range is not, as a rule, so extensive
as that of the Roller ; and although it has been known to push
its excursions to Muonioniska, within the Arctic circle, yet its visits
to Sweden, Denmark, and Northern Germany, are few and irregular,
and on Heligoland it has only once been obtained. It is said to have
bred in Central and Southern Germany, and near Abbeville in the
north of France, while it nests not unfrequently in Languedoc and
Provence ; but north of the Alps and the Carpathians, and of
about lat. 550 in Russia, it only does so exceptionally. In Southern
Russia, Turkey, Greece, along the valley of the Danube, and in
Southern Italy, the Bee-eater is abundant ; and in the Spanish

274

BEE-EATER.

Peninsula it swarms from the beginning of April until the latter part
of August. It visits the Canaries and Madeira, and is common
throughout the basin of the Mediterranean and in North Africa, while
in winter it is found as far south as Cape Colony. In Egypt, though
it is abundant on migration, comparatively few remain to breed,
the representative species being the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, M. per-
sicus. Eastward it ranges to North-western India during the cold
season, and through Turkestan to the Altai Mountains in summer.

The Bee-eater generally breeds in colonies, like the Sand-Martin,
and banks by the side of rivers or dried-up watercourses may be seen
honeycombed with its excavations, commenced soon after arrival ;
the bill of the bird being sometimes worn down by the operation.
In the great plains below Seville holes are often bored diagon-
ally or even vertically in the ground; and as the shafts vary from
three or four to eight or nine feet in depth, the eggs, placed in a
small chamber at the end, are not obtained without labour. These,
generally 5-6 in number, are laid upon the bare earth, though after-
wards surrounded by castings and the wing-cases & c. of coleopterous
insects ; they are pure glossy white, nearly globular in shape :
average measurements 1 in. by ‘9 in. Though sometimes found by
the end of April, the middle of May is the usual time, and only one
brood appears to be reared in the season. Sacksfull of birds are taken
in Spain by spreading a net over the face of an occupied bank and
pouring water into a parallel trench cut at some distance back ; for
the Bee-eater is hated by the peasants, owing to the ravages inflicted
upon their numerous hives, although it also destroys large numbers
of wasps, locusts, grasshoppers, beetles and other insects. The
flight is light and undulating ; the note is a sharp quilp.

The adult male has the lores and ear-coverts black ; forehead
white followed by a pale green band ; head, neck, upper back,
and a broad bar on the secondaries, chestnut-brown ; remaining
wing-feathers chiefly bluish-green ; lower back tawny-yellow ; tail
green, the two elongated central feathers tipped with black; throat
bright yellow followed by a black band ; under parts greenish-blue ;
bill black; feet reddish-brown. Length 10 in.; wing 6 in. The
female is greener on the back, duller in colour, and has the central
tail-feathers shorter. In the young the latter scarcely project ; the
upper parts are greenish-brown, and there is no black gorget.

An identified adult example of the Blue-tailed Bee-eater, M.
philippinus, is said to have been shot near Seaton Carew, Northum-
berland, in August 1862.

UPUPIDJE.

275

THE HOOPOE.

Upi)pa £pops, Linnmus.

The Hoopoe has been noticed for more than two centuries as
a visitor to Great Britain, and in spring it arrives so frequently
on our southern and eastern coasts that if unmolested it would
soon become one of our regular breeding species. The appear-
ance of this tame and conspicuous bird is, however, the signal for
its persecution unto death, and some years ago the head-keeper at
Ashburnham Park, in Sussex, destroyed no fewer than seven in one
week, while I am afraid to say how many have been slain near a
certain spot in Kent where they alight after crossing the Channel.
In spite of their inhospitable reception a few pairs manage to
escape, and have bred from time to time in Devon, Dorset, Wilts,
Hants, Surrey, Sussex, Kent, and probably in some other counties.
The bird also visits us in autumn — sometimes in tolerable numbers on
the east coast after gales — and even in winter : while as a wanderer
it has been found in most of the counties of England, though sel-
dom in the north. In Scotland it has occurred irregularly as far
as Sutherland and Caithness ; also in the Orkneys, Shetlands, and
Outer Hebrides. To Ireland it is an almost annual visitor in small
numbers, principally to the southern portion.

Accidentally the Hoopoe has been taken in the Frnroes, Spitsber-
gen, and the north of Norway and Russia ; while in the south of

276

HOOPOE.

Sweden and in Denmark it breeds sparingly, though in the latter its
numbers have diminished owing to the eradication of the old hollow
trees in the forests. Southward it is generally distributed through-
out Europe, wherever there are swampy woods and timber-fringed
meadows suitable to its habits : while in the countries bordering the
Mediterranean and Black Seas it is abundant and almost ubiquitous,
being especially numerous at the periods of migration. It is found in
the Azores and Madeira, and is common in the Canaries (where
some are resident), Northern Africa, Egypt, Nubia, and eastward
throughout the greater part of Asia to China and Japan; its most
southern winter-quarters being, as far as is known, in Abyssinia and
Senegal.

A hole in the decayed wood of some hollow tree — frequently a
willow or ash — is usually selected; and the slight materials of which
the nest is composed are generally surrounded or cemented by
ordure of some kind, causing an intolerable stench, which is subse-
quently increased by the droppings of the female and of the young.
Sometimes a crevice in a wall or rock is made use of ; in China holes
in exposed coffins are occupied ; and Pallas found a nest in the
chest of a rotting corpse loosely covered with stones. The eggs,
4-7 in number, are pale greenish-blue when first laid, but later they
become greenish-olive : average measurements 1 in. by 7 in. The
food consists of worms, insects and their larvte — especially those
which are found in dung — and flies, which are taken on the wing.
The movements of the Hoopoe are graceful, particularly at the time
of courtship, when the bird struts about with crest erect, uttering a
note resembling a soft bu-bu (whence the Spanish term “ abubilla ”)
or hoop-hoop , to which, and not to the crest, it owes its English and
French names. The flight is undulating.

The general plumage of the adult is pale cinnamon on the head,
shoulders and under parts ; the long, erectile crest-feathers richer in
tint and tipped with black ; wing-feathers black, broadly barred with
white, and striped with buff on the inner secondaries ; lower back
barred with black, white and buff ; tail black, with a broad white bar
across the centre, and descending towards the tips on the outer pair
of feathers ; the long, slightly decurved bill is black, flesh-coloured at
the base ; feet dusky-brown. Length from base of bill nearly 10 in. ;
wing 6 in The female is rather smaller, duller in plumage, and has
less crest The young bird has a shorter bill, and the colours are
not so rich.

CUCUI.ID.rE.

277

THE CUCKOO.

Cucuuus can(5rus, Linnaeus.

The male Cuckoo, which precedes the female by a few days,
seldom arrives even in the south of England before April 6th, and
immediately announces his presence by the well-known cuck-oo note,
often uttered at night as well as by day. In June, according to the
familiar adage, he “ changes his tune,” and becomes hoarse, while
by August most of the old birds have taken their departure, though
the young sometimes remain until October. In summer the Cuckoo
is found throughout the United Kingdom, inclusive of the outlying
islands ; and, though only an accidental visitor to the Faeroes, it
ranges almost to the North Cape in Norway ; nearly as far in
Russia ; and across Northern Asia — except on the Siberian tundras
— to the Pacific. Over Europe it is generally distributed, though

278

CUCKOO.

comparatively few remain to breed in the countries bordering the
Mediterranean, or in Northern Africa; while to the Canaries and
Madeira it is only an irregular visitor. In Asia its southern breed-
ing limits appear to be in the Himalayas ; but in winter it goes
down to the Philippines, Celebes, Burma and Ceylon : and in
Africa to Natal. Closely-allied species occur in both the above
continents.

The female, which resorts to the same locality year after year,
deposits her egg on the ground, and then conveys it in her bill to the
nest of some bird destined to act as foster-parent. In this country
the latter is generally the Meadow-Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Hedge-Spar-
row or Reed-Warbler, and less frequently the Yellow- and Cirl-Bunt-
ings ; with many others, especially on the Continent. An interest-
ing list of these has been compiled by Mr. Bidwell (Tr. Norw. Soc.
iii. pp. 526-531). The egg, which averages about *85 by 75 in.,
varies considerably, and, though usually of a greenish- or reddish-
grey with darker cloudings and spots, sometimes, but not always,
resembles the eggs of the foster-bird. For instance, Cuckoo’s eggs
placed in the nest of the Orphean Warbler are chiefly distinguish-
able by their size (supra, p. 46) ; while eggs of a pale blue have been
found, though not invariably located in nests of the Hedge-Sparrow
or the Redstart. From 5-8 are produced by the female in the season ;
the same bird sometimes depositing two, and even three eggs in a
nest When the young Cuckoo is nine or ten days old, it ejects
the other nestlings by the aid of a cavity in its back which fills
up after the twelfth day ; and, where there are two Cuckoos in the
same nest the struggle for existence is sometimes severe. The food
consists of insects and their larvte, especially hairy caterpillars ; the
indigestible portions being thrown up in pellets. The female utters
a water-bubbling or whistling note. The superficial resemblance of
the Cuckoo to a Hawk undoubtedly proves deceptive to other
birds ; also to ignorant peasants and gamekeepers, who frequently
assert that “ Cuckoos turn to Hawks in winter.”

The adults of both sexes are greyish-ash above and on the throat,
with small white spots on the darker grey tail, and dusky bars on the
white under parts ; irides, legs and feet yellow. Length 1 2 in. ; wing
8-5 in. The female sometimes shows a slight rufous tinge on the
breast. The young are clove-brown on the upper parts ; there is a
white spot on the nape, and the irides are brown. Birds of both
sexes are sometimes found in spring of a rich chestnut-brown, like a
female Kestrel, and this form has been distinguished as C. Jiepaticus.

CUCULID/E.

279

THE GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO.

Coccystes glandarius (Linnteus).

An example of this southern species was captured alive in a
fatigued and emaciated condition on the island of Omey (errone-
ously printed Omagh), off the coast of Connemara, probably in
March 1842. It was subsequently obtained for the Museum of
Trinity College, Dublin, where it still remains, although said to have
perished; and, on examining it a short time ago, I found that it was
in immature plumage. Another, shot near Bellingham, Northumber-
land, on August 5th 1870, is now in the Newcastle Museum.

As a wanderer the Great Spotted Cuckoo has occurred in Nor-
thern Germany, Southern France, and Northern Italy, while in the
south and in Sicily it is tolerably frequent on passage, though rare
in Malta, and unrecorded from Sardinia or Corsica. In Andalucia
I found it had arrived by March 2nd, and it is common through-
out the summer in the Spanish Peninsula as far north as the
vicinity of Madrid, wherever there are woods suited to the habits
of the Magpie, in the nests of which this Cuckoo deposits its
eggs. It is not known to breed in any other part of Europe,

280

GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO.

though it visits Greece and Southern Russia ; in Asia Minor,
Palestine, and Northern Persia, however, it occurs on migration and
in summer. It is common and resident in Egypt and Nubia, and
breeds throughout the wooded districts of Northern Africa, occa-
sionally wandering to the Canaries ; while in the cold season it goes
as far south as Damara-land and Kaffraria.

In Spain, as already mentioned, it generally selects the Magpie
as foster-parent, and I have found as many as four of its eggs,
with six of those of that bird, in the same nest ; occasionally a
Raven’s or Blue-winged Magpie’s is made use of. In Egypt the
Hooded Crow’s is chosen, and in Algeria the Moorish Magpie’s.
The Cuckoo takes the egg in her bill, and after placing it in the
nest, often ejects an egg of the foster-parent to make room for
her own. So common is the bird at Aranjuez that my man and I
took forty-four eggs in the course of two mornings, but we climbed
to at least two hundred Magpies’ nests. The egg is pale green,
streaked and spotted with russet and dull lilac, sometimes closely
resembling that of the Magpie, but of a much firmer and smoother
texture : average measurements 1*2 by '96 in. A female shot on
April 6th had a well-formed egg in her oviduct, but early in May is
the usual time for laying. The food consists of insects. The note
of the male is a harsh kark-kark ; that of the female burroo-burroo.
Col. Irby gives August 7th as the latest date for Spain.

The adults of both sexes have the crown grey with a long-pointed
crest ; upper parts greyish-brown with white tips to most of the
feathers; tail-feathers, except the central ones, largely tipped with
white ; neck buffish-white ; under parts dull white. Length 15 in. ;
wing 8 in. The young bird is much handsomer, having a nearly
black head and nape, buff neck and breast, and the upper parts of
the primaries chestnut.

An example of the American Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus
americanus , was shot in co. Cork in the autumn of 1825 ; another
near Dublin in 1832 ; a third in Pembrokeshire, also in the autumn
of 1832 ; and a fourth near Aberystwith in October 1870. On the
Continent, one was obtained in Belgium in October 1874, and
another near Turin in 1883. Admitting that all these have occurred
at the time of migration, I cannot believe that they have crossed
the Atlantic without human assistance ; and the same remark
applies to the American Black-billed Cuckoo, C. erythropthalmus , a
specimen of which was shot near Belfast about September 25th 1871 ;
while in Italy one was killed near Lucca in 1S5S.

STRIGID/F..

281

THE BARN-OWL.

Strix flammea, Linnseus.

This species, often known as the White or Church-Owl, is gene-
rally distributed throughout England, Wales and Ireland ; it would
even be common but for the persecution it suffers from game-
keepers and ignorant farmers, as well as from dealers in plumes tor
ladies’ hats, fire-screens &c. In Scotland it is not often found be-
yond the lowlands, though it breeds in small numbers as far north
as Caithness, and in the Inner Hebrides, including Skye; in the
Orkneys it is now almost unknown, though it has recently occurred
in the Shetlands.

On the Continent the Barn-Owl has a more restricted range
northward, and is not known to nest beyond the south of Sweden,
to which it has recently spread from Denmark, where the bird is
tolerably common. It is resident in Courland and not scarce in
Poland, while in Central Russia it is found sparingly as far east as
Toula and Orel, becoming abundant in the southern provinces of
Podolia and Bessarabia. In Austro-Hungary and the greater part

282

BARN-OWL.

of Germany it is fairly numerous, though somewhat local in its dis-
tribution ; and throughout Western Europe it is a well-known species.
It is found in the Azores, Madeira, the Canaries, and the Cape Verd
Islands, also in Northern Africa to Egypt, and in Palestine ; in
the north-eastern portion of the Mediterranean basin, however, it is
seldom met with, although occurring in Mesopotamia and down to
the head of the Persian Gulf. Over the above-mentioned area both
light and dark phases are found; and, making allowance for climatic
varieties which Mr. R. B. Sharpe and other authorities do not
consider entitled to specific distinction, this Owl may be described as
ranging over the African region inclusive of Madagascar, the Indian,
Malayasian, Australian and Polynesian regions, and throughout
America and its islands from about 40° N. lat. to 40° S. lat.

The Barn-Owl takes lip its abode in church-towers and belfries,
farm- and other buildings, hollow trees, dovecotes, and clefts in walls
or cliffs. It makes no nest, though its castings may be found round
the eggs, sometimes laid in pairs ; six, nearly fresh, have been found
alongside of three nestlings, while two or three distinct stages of the
latter are not unknown. Incubation, which occasionally begins
about the end of April, but usually in May, has been known to take
place up to November and December. The eggs are dull white :
average measurements i-6 by 1*2 in. There is no evidence that this
species does any harm to eggs or pigeons in the dovecotes which it
often inhabits, and it feeds chiefly on field-mice, thereby entitling
itself to protection on the part of the agriculturist ; it also eats rats,
shrews, bats, small birds, insects, and occasionally small surface-fre-
quenting fish. During the daytime the Barn-Owl generally remains
concealed, though when disturbed I have seen it flitting in no
uncertain manner in the brilliant sunshine of the south; but it seeks
its food in the dusk of evening and at nights. Its cry is a loud
weird shriek, and a snoring sound is emitted by young and old.

In the adult male the upper parts are orange-buff, minutely varie-
gated with brown, grey and white ; facial disk white with a brownish
rim ; under parts white. In the dark form the upper parts are grey,
with darker spots and vermiculations ; the facial disk is tinged
with orange, and the rim is blackish ; the under parts are warm
orange-buff with clearly-defined blackish-grey spots. Bill white ;
operculum (or skin which covers the orifice of the ear) large ;
legs covered with white hair-like feathers. Length 13 in. ; wing
1 1 2 in. The female is slightly larger than the male. The young
bird, at first covered with white down, hardly differs from the adult
in its feathered plumage.

STRIG1D/E.

28'

THE LONG-EARED OWL.

Asio 6tus (Linnceus).

The Long-eared Owl is more abundant than is generally sup-
posed, and in the wooded districts of Great Britain — especially in
fir-plantations— this handsome bird is found throughout the year ;
its numbers being increased in autumn by considerable migrations
from the Continent. Where suitable cover is available it breeds in
the Hebrides, and it has visited the Orkneys, Shetlands and Faroes,
though there the conditions are not favourable for a prolonged stay.
In Ireland it is common and resident.

To Iceland this Owl has strayed on one occasion ; and it is
found breeding in Scandinavia and Russia as far as 63° N. lat.,
though rare and local at the northern extremity of its range. South
of 590 in the Ural Mountains, it is more or less numerous down
to the northern slopes of the Caucasus ; while westward, we find
it generally distributed throughout the woodlands of Europe.
In the south it is more abundant in winter than in summer, and
the birds which breed in Spain and Italy generally ascend to the

284

I.ONG-EARED OWL.

V wooded mountains. Mr. Godnian obtained a nestling in the Azores 3
it occurs in Madeira 3 in the Canaries it nests in the palm-trees of
the warm valleys as well as in the mountain forests ; and it is found
in North Africa from Morocco to Egypt. Eastward it has been
recorded from Arabia 3 and it inhabits the temperate portions of
Asia north of the Himalayas as far as the Pacific and the Japanese
Islands. In North America it is represented by a subspecies,
A. wilsonianus of Lesson, which has darker upper parts and more
closely barred under parts.

The Long-eared Owl deposits its eggs in an old squirrel’s drey,
or on the last year’s nest of a Ring-Dove, Magpie, Crow, Rook,
Heron, and, on the Continent, of a Buzzard, Kite &c. 3 a little
lining of small thin sticks and rabbit’s fur being often added. It
lays very early in the season, and even in Northumberland clutches
of eggs have been taken by February 22nd. These, 4-6 in
number, are white, with a rather smooth but not glossy surface :
average measurements i‘6 by x-3 in. Several pairs may be found in
close proximity, and I knew of eight broods being destroyed in a
long fir-plantation which stretches along a commanding ridge
in Surrey, by orders of an ignorant plutocrat who hoped that by
exterminating every bird of prey he would ensure the biggest head
of game ever known in the neighbourhood : in which he was signally
disappointed. This Owl is almost entirely nocturnal or crepuscular
in its habits, and during the daytime it is seldom to be found in the
open fields, except at the time of migration. The pellets which I
have examined show that it feeds principally upon field-mice, rats,
and birds up to the size of a Blackbird, while it is said that beetles
and other insects are sometimes eaten. The young utter a loud
mewing, and the old birds occasionally make a barking or * quack-
ing ’ noise, both while on the wing and also when perched 3 but as
a rule this species is rather silent, and certainly does not ‘ hoot ’
like the Tawny Owl.

The adult male has the upper parts buff, mottled and vermiculated
with brown and grey, and streaked with dark brown, especially on
the long erectile ear-tufts 3 facial disk buff, with a greyish-black
margin and outer rim, and dark markings round the eyes 3 under
parts warm buff and grey, with broad blackish longitudinal streaks
and minute transverse bars 3 bill blackish ; operculum semicircular 3
legs covered to the toes with fawn-coloured feathers. Length 15 in. 3
wing 12 in. It has been stated that the female is more rufous in
tint than the male. In the young the facial disk is yellower and the
markings on the under parts are more defined.

STRIGID/E.

285

THE SHORT-EARED OWL.

Asio accipitri'nus (Pallas).

Unlike the preceding arboreal species, the Short-eared Owl is an
inhabitant of the open country, especially upland moors, fens, heather
and furze on hillsides, and more or less damp places ; while in the
latter part of the year it is often met with in turnip-fields and
stubbles. Owing to the fact that large numbers arrive regularly from
the Continent in autumn, and remain for the winter, it is frequently
flushed by sportsmen, and is often called the Woodcock-Owl, from
the coincidence of the time of its appearance, and, perhaps, from its
twisting flight ; in some years it is much more plentiful than in others.
Notwithstanding the drainage of the fens a few pairs still breed in
the eastern counties, and northward its nesting-places, though widely
scattered over our moorlands, become more frequent ; while in Scot-
land and the islands they may almost be called numerous. In Ireland
this species has not yet been recorded as breeding, but it is as com-
mon there in winter as it is in the rest of the United Kingdom.

Though the Short-eared Owl sometimes nests in the Shetlands,
it is only a wanderer to the Faeroes, and its occurrence has not been
authenticated in Iceland. From 70° N. lat. down to the shores of
the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas, it is generally distributed

286

SHORT-EARED OWE.

throughout Europe, breeding in suitable localities down to the south
of Russia, Italy, Sicily and Malta. In the Spanish Peninsula it has
not yet been known to nest, though abundant there in winter ; but
in Morocco it is said to pair with an African species, Asio capensis
(which visits Spain), and it is found in Africa as far south as Natal.
Its range extends all over the temperate portions of Asia and even
as far south as Singapore ; in the Pacific it has been obtained in the
Sandwich, Ladrones and Caroline groups ; while on the continent
and islands of America it occurs from Greenland to the Straits
of Magellan. No other species of Owl has so wide a range, but its
breeding-limits in the south are as yet imperfectly defined.

In the fens the nest is a mere hollow formed on the top of a
clump of sedge or in the side of a mass of mown reeds; but on the
moors the eggs are laid in tufts of heather ; they are often 6 or even
8 in number, rather smooth in texture, and creamy-white in colour :
average measurements i-6 by i’25 in. They are generally laid early
in May, though the young are sometimes unable to fly by the be-
ginning of August. At one nest visited by Mr. A. H. Evans, Mr.
Seebohm and myself, the parent birds uttered no sound, but hovered
high in the air and circled round, occasionally fluttering their wings
in a manner indicative of anxiety; at another the sitting bird flapped
away after one harsh scream. The food consists of rats, field-mice,
lemmings, and other rodents, birds from the size of a Lark to that of
a Plover, and occasionally of bats, fish, reptiles, and large insects.
This Owl is often seen pursuing its prey in daylight, and it has
been known to pick up and carry off wounded birds.

The plumage of the upper parts in the adult is similar to that
in the preceding species, but it is more blotched than streaked,
the buff tint is more pronounced, the facial disk and the rim are
browner, and the ear-tufts, though erectile, are short and invisible
except when the bird is excited ; the under parts are streaked longi-
tudinally with blackish-brown, but not transversely barred or vermicu-
lated ; bill black; operculum semicircular. Length i4_I5 *n- > w‘n8
about 12 in. ; the female being slightly larger than the male. The
young bird is browner and darker, with bolder markings, and is very
tawny on the under parts, while the iris is pale sulphur instead of rich
yellow. Pallid forms are not uncommon, and specimens from differ-
ent parts of the enormous area inhabited by this Owl vary consider-
ably in tint.

STR1GID.«.

287

THE TAWNY OWL.

Syrnium aluco (Linnaeus).

The Tawny, Brown, or Wood-Owl is still, in spite of molestation,
tolerably abundant in England and Wales wherever there are woods
or crags suited to its habits ; it is in fact much commoner in some
places than the White or Barn-Owl, though in others rapidly decreas-
ing. In the south of Scotland it is a well-known species, and of late
years it has extended its range on the mainland to Caithness and
Sutherland, while in the west it occurs in Skye and some of the
Inner Hebrides. In Ireland, strange to say, its presence has not
yet been authenticated.

From the Fteroes this species was recorded in January and again
in March 1871 ; on the latter occasion it was migrating in company
with some Long-eared Owls. In Norway it is numerous up to the
Trondhjems-fjord, above which it becomes rare; but in Sweden its
northern range is, as usual, less extensive, though the bird is very
common in the southern parts of that country. Below 6o°-6i° N.
lat. in Russia it is generally distributed as far as the western slopes
of the Ural Mountains, but on the eastern side it is scarce, and in

288

TAWNY OWL.

Siberia is as yet unknown. Throughout temperate Europe the
Tawny Owl is found in suitable localities, but in the south it is
very local, being almost confined to the higher wooded districts in
the Spanish Peninsula, and to the northern portion of Italy, while it
has not yet been obtained in Corsica or Sardinia. In North Africa,
however, it is known to breed in small numbers, as also in Asia Minor,
and Canon Tristram met with it among the cedars of Lebanon. East-
ward it can be traced through Turkestan to Tibet ; but a form
resident in the Himalayas, with bolder and darker mottlings, has
been separated specifically as S. nivicolum , while opinions differ
respecting birds from China.

The Tawny Owl breeds early in the year, often having eggs by the
middle of March in the south of England, though rather later in the
north of Scotland. A hollow in the trunk of some decayed tree,
especially when covered with ivy, is a favourite site; but old nests of
Rooks, Crows, Magpies and other birds are often occupied, and
ruins, barns and out-buildings, disused chimneys &c. are occasion-
ally resorted to; while instances of eggs being laid in rabbit-burrows,
on ledges of root-trellised crags, or on the bare ground under shelter
of fir-branches, are by no means uncommon. As usual, the eggs
are white, rather smooth in surface and nearly round in shape :
average measurements i'8 by 1*5 in. The clicking note of the
young resembles the word kee-wick ; the old birds may be heard
to utter their loud hoo-hoo, or the tu-whit, to-who as rendered by
Shakespeare, chiefly in the evening and shortly before dawn.
During the day this Owl remains concealed, and it appears to
dislike the sunlight more than any other British member of the
family. Some bold individuals resent an approach to their nest,
and cases are even known of distinct aggressiveness. The food
consists of voles, rats, mice, shrews, squirrels, moles, small birds,
insects, and surface-swimming fish.

The adult male has the upper parts of varying shades of ash-grey
mottled with brown, with large white spots on the outer webs of the
wing-coverts ; tail barred with brown and tipped with white ; under
parts buffish-white, mottled with pale and streaked with dark brown ,
facial disk greyish, with a dark brown border ; operculum large ; legs
feathered to the claws. Length about 16 in.; wing 11 in. The
female is larger, and often more rufous in plumage, but there are two
phases— a red and a grey— of this species, the colour of which is
independent of sex, the ruddy form being the more common in this
country. The nestlings are covered with greyish down ; afterwards
the plumage is generally more rufous than in the adults.

S'1'RIGID/E.

289

TENGMALM’S OWL.

Nyctala tengmalmi (J. F. Gmelin).

As indicated by its thick and downy plumage, this small Owl is
an inhabitant of northern regions, whence it migrates southward in
severe weather ; wandering, at long intervals, to Great Britain in
autumn and winter, and in spring on its return northwards. Since
the beginning of this century about fifteen examples have been
obtained in England — chiefly in Northumberland, Yorkshire, Norfolk
and .Suffolk ; specimens have, however, been obtained as far south
as Kent and Somerset (though the so-called Sussex example proves
to be a Little Owl) ; also in Shropshire, near Preston in Lancashire,
and once in Cumberland. With regard to Scotland, one has been
captured in the Orkneys, and one in the Firth of Forth. As yet
there is no record from Ireland.

Tengmalm’s Owl inhabits Scandinavia, Lapland, Finland and
Russia, almost up to the northern limit of the forests; its southern
breeding-range in the latter country coinciding with the growth of
Pinus sylvestris, and reaching as far as Saratov and Orenburg. In
winter its migrations extend to Guriev, where the Ural River empties
itself into the Caspian Sea; but Dr. Menzbier, the eminent Russian
authority, does not believe in its asserted existence in the Crimea. It
breeds in the higher forests of the various branches of the Carpathians,

A A

290

TENGMALM S OWL.

and in those of the Alps, from Styria and the Tyrol westward to
the Vosges, the Jura, and the mountains of Dauphine ; while there
is evidence that it inhabits the Pyrenees, though it is not found
further south in Spain. In other parts of Europe — including Heligo-
land— it is chiefly a migrant. Eastward, it appears to range across
the pine-forests of Siberia to the Pacific ; and in the woods
of Arctic America it is represented by a slightly darker form of
very doubtful specific distinctness, known to separatists as Nyctala
richardsoni.

Our earliest knowledge of the breeding-habits of this, as of so
many other Arctic species, was derived from Wolley, who found that
in Lapland it occupied the lyllas or mis — nest-boxes formed of logs
hollowed out at either end, with a hole cut in the side — set up by
the inhabitants for the use of the Golden-eye Ducks; it also deposits
its eggs in holes in trees, often in some former abode of the Black
Woodpecker. The eggs, laid between the beginning of May and
end of June, are 4-6, and exceptionally 10, in number; they are
smooth, and white in colour: average measurements i'28 by 1 in.
The food — consisting of lemmings, mice and other rodents, with large
beetles and small birds — is generally procured during the latter half
of the day ; but it is hardly necessary to add that sunshine does not
incommode a bird which passes the summer in the continuous
light of the high north. The call-note is described by Wheelwright
as a soft whistle, only uttered in the evening and by night.

The adult male has the upper parts chocolate-brown, with small
white spots on the top of the head, and larger white patches on the
back and wing-coverts ; facial disk nearly complete, dull white with
a dark outer ring ; under parts greyish-white, irregularly barred and
streaked with brown ; legs and toes thickly covered with whitish
brown-speckled feathers (in the Little Owl the feathers on the legs
are short and the toes have merely bristles) ; bill yellowish-white.
Length 8-5 to 9 in. The female is slightly larger than the male and
has the white spots less pronounced ; while the young are much
darker than the adults, and are chiefly spotted on the wings and tail.
A remarkable characteristic of this Owl, as shown by Professor
Collett of Christiania, is that the ear-regions in the skull itself, as
well as the orifices, are unequal in size.

The late Sir William M. E. Milner recorded (Zool. p. 7104) the
occurrence of the North A.merican Saw-whet Owl, Nyctala acadica,
near Beverley in Yorkshire. He was probably mistaken or, as
frequently happened, imposed upon.

STRIGID.E.

291

THE LITTLE OWL.

Athene n6ctua (Scopoli).

More than twenty examples of this common European species
have been obtained in England since 1758, when Edwards figured a
bird caught alive in a chimney near the Tower of London ; but so
many are known to have been imported from the Continent and
intentionally liberated — to say nothing of those which have escaped
from confinement — that it is impossible to say whether any of our
visitors have been really wild. In May 1843 Waterton turned out
five Little Owls near Wakefield, which he had brought from Italy
the previous year; while recently Mr. St. Quentin in Yorkshire,
and Mr. Meade-Waldo in Hampshire, have introduced others,
which have bred at large though in gradually diminishing numbers.
Cages-full brought from Holland may often be seen in Leadenhall
Market , and, without disputing the claim of this species to a place
in the British list, it must be said that in the countries it inhabits,
it is certainly not addicted to migration. As yet it has not been
recorded from Scotland or Ireland.

I he Little Owl is of exceptional occurrence in Sweden, and in
ssia the Baltic Province of Courland marks its northern breed-
ing- unit ; but south of lat. 56° it is a generally distributed resident

A A 2

292

LITTLE OWL.

in Europe, especially in the countries washed by the Mediterranean.
Examples from Greece are paler than those from Western Europe ;
and an increase in sandy tint has led to the separation of the
form which inhabits North Africa and Egypt, as A. glaux or
A. meridionalis : other variations in tint are found in South Russia
and in Asia Minor ; while between the Ural Mountains and Nor-
thern China there is a fairly distinct species, A. baciriana , with the
toes covered with feathers instead of hairy bristles.

In April or May the Little Owl deposits its eggs in holes in ruins,
farm out-houses and other buildings, hollow trees, or rocks , they are
white, and are 3—5 in number : average measurements 1 4 bj
115 in. Mr. Meade- Waldo informs me that incubation lasts twenty-
eight days ; that the bird feeds largely on insects, and frequents
lawns in the evening to collect earth-worms; while in winter it
catches birds at roost, and devours a large number of Ihrushes,
eating also mice and other small mammals. Early in the spring the
male is very noisy ; repeating its note of cu and sometimes cu-cu,
with exasperating monotony. This Owl is comparatively diurnal,
and is therefore liable to be mobbed by small birds ; for which
reason it is often used as a lure by Continental bird-catchers. Its
habit of alternately ducking down and drawing itself up to its full
height is extremely grotesque.

The upper plumage is greyish-brown, striped on the head, spotted
on the head and wings, and barred on the tail with white ; under
parts dull white streaked with brown ; facial disk ill-defined ; no
operculum ; irides yellow; toes covered with hairy bristles. Lengt
about 8 in., the female being rather larger than the male. 1 he
young have a more rufous tinge than the adults.

If we follow the least elastic interpretation of the often disregarded
laws of nomenclature, the generic name Athene is inadmissible, as
having been previously employed in Entomology, and Canne shou d
be adopted ; but many will agree with me that the point shou d
be conceded, to preserve an association with 1 alias Athene
whom this bird was sacred. The specific nam epassenna, sometime
employed, is inadmissible ; for the Strix passenna of Linmeus is he
Pigmy Owl, a bird hardly larger than a Sparrow, and one which
ha! never occurred, or is likely to occur, in the British Islands.

The I ittle Owl, and, I believe, all others, usually keep tuo toes
in front and^two behind, when perched, delate Mr Ya.e an
his draughtsman were probably unaware of this, wh ch is a t g by
no means generally known, even now ; and m tins respect the
attitudes of several of the Strigidre are not happy.

STRIGIDAC.

293

THE SNOWY OWL.

Nyctea scandiaca (Linnaeus).

This conspicuous bird was first noticed in Britain by the late
Dr. Edmondston, who recognized it in 1811 in the Shetland Islands;
to which, and to the Orkneys, it is now known to be an almost
annual visitor in the cold season, especially after northerly gales.
Its occurrence in the Outer and the Inner Hebrides, as well as
on the mainland of Scotland, is by no means unusual ; while in
England it has been obtained on several occasions in Northumber-
land and Yorkshire, nine times in Norfolk, once in Suffolk, and once
in South Devon. To Ireland its visits have been less frequent, but
it has been observed, at considerable intervals, in several counties
during the winter months. It has never been known to breed in
a wild state — though it has done so in captivity — in any part of
the British Islands.

294

SNOWY OWL.

1o the haeroes, Iceland and Spitsbergen, the Snowy Owl is only
a straggler ; but it is common and partially resident on Novaya
Zemlya, Waigatz, and throughout the Kola Peninsula. On the fells
of Norway and Sweden it follows the lemmings on their migra-
tions, and of late years has been found breeding in many places
where it had previously been unnoticed. In Russia it inhabits the
tundras; nesting, exceptionally, down to the Governments of St.
Petersburg and Livonia ; and in winter it is distributed over the
whole country down to the Caspian and the Sea of Azov. As
regards the western half of Europe, it visits Pomerania, the north of
Germany, and Denmark, in some numbers during cold weather;
while its wanderings have extended to Holland, France, and
Lower Austria. In Asia, it is found across Northern Siberia in
summer, and in winter an example has been obtained at Murdan
in the Indus valley. On the American continent it breeds on the
barren-grounds and the verge of the wooded districts, from Alaska
to Labrador ; also in Greenland, where — or, strictly speaking, in
Grinnell-Land — Col. PI. W. Feilden found it nesting as far north as
82° 33rj though it abandoned those high latitudes at the end of
August, reappearing on March 29th. In winter it has occurred as
far south as Texas, and in the Bermudas; while a flock has been
known to perch on the spars of a vessel and accompany it from
Labrador half way across the Atlantic towards Ireland.

The Snowy Owl deposits its eggs on the bare ground or in a
mere hollow scraped in the reindeer-moss, generally on some slight
eminence. The eggs are often laid in pairs and at intervals, and
10 have been found together; they are, like most Owls’ eggs,
white, but rather more elongated than usual : average measure-
ments 2 ‘3 by 175 in. Prof. Collett says that the female and
young are fed by the male, which exhibits great boldness and even
ferocity when the nesting-place is approached. The food consists of
lemmings and other rodents, Arctic hares, Ptarmigan and Willow-
Grouse — wounded birds being often picked up before the sportsman
can reach them ; carrion is also eaten, and the bird is an expert
catcher of fish. Its own flesh is highly esteemed by the inhabitants
of the Arctic regions. The cry is a loud and repeated krau-au.

The plumage of the Snowy Owl is white, barred and spotted with
an amount of black or dark brown which varies greatly in different
individuals ; it is said that the female is more profusely marked
than the male, and she is certainly much larger. Small but almost
invisible tufts exist ; there is no operculum ; bill black ; iris orange-
yellow. Length from 22 to 27 in.

STRIGID^.

295

THE HAWK-OWL.
Surxia funerea (Linnaeus).

An example of this rare wanderer to Great Britain was taken in
an exhausted state off the coast of Cornwall in March 1830; a
second was shot near Yatton, in Somersetshire, while hawking for
prey on a sunny afternoon in August 1847 ; a third on Unst, in the
Shetland Islands, in the winter of 1860-61 ; a fourth near Glasgow
in December 1863 ; and a fifth near Greenock in November 1868.
Of the above, I believe that all which are now available for critical
examination belong to the North American form — distinguished by
trinomialists in the United States as S. ulula caparoch — in which the
dark transverse bands of the under parts are more ruddy than in the
European, and the white on the upper parts is rather more pro-
nounced. There can be little doubt that the American visitors had
received aid from vessels for Bristol and the Clyde ; a genuine
example of the European form has, however, been obtained near
Amesbury, Wilts, and identified by Mr. R. B. Sharpe (P. Z. S.,
1876, P-334); while the Shetland bird (destroyed by moth) was
also, judging by the description, from the Old World.

296

HAWK-OWL.

Neither variety of the Hawk-Owl is found in Greenland or Iceland;
but the European race inhabits the pine-forests of Scandinavia and
Northern Russia. In the latter it is found up to 68° N. lat., and
though only breeding occasionally in the Baltic Provinces, it does
so regularly as far south as the Governments of Moscow and
Smolensk, and in the mountain forests of the Ural down to Oren-
burg. In winter it occurs in Poland and Northern Germany ; less
frequently in Denmark, Belgium, Northern France, Lorraine, and
Alsace ; rarely in Austria. In examples from between the Ural
Mountains and the Pacific, the colours are purer and more strongly
contrasted — as in the case of many other species ; and this North-
Siberian form, distinguished by Pallas as S. do/iata, is said to inhabit
Alaska. Ihere it meets with the American race already mentioned,
which ranges eastward to Labrador, and as far south as Pennsylvania
in severe winters.

The Hawk-Owl begins to breed by the middle of April; and
Wolley, to whom we owe the earliest details respecting its habits,
found that it occupied holes in trees, and the nesting-boxes set up
by the peasants for the use of Ducks, in which it lays from 5 to 8 white
eggs: average measurements 1-55 by 1*2 in. In Arctic America
these are said to be deposited in nests built of small sticks and twigs,
in pine-trees ; doubtless the deserted habitations of other birds,
such as are utilized by the Long-eared Owl. The male bird fiercely
attacks any intruder upon its domain, and both sexes appear to
take part in the task of incubation. The cry is similar to that
of a Hawk, which, from its long tail, sharp wings and quick
flight, this species much resembles in appearance. It flies much in
the daytime and has been seen to strike down the Siberian Jay on
the wing ; its food consists of lemmings and other rodents, large
insects, and birds up to the size of Ptarmigan or a Willow-
Grouse ; to obtain the latter of which it will sometimes attend
upon the sportsman.

The general colour of the upper parts is dark brown, spotted with
white ; facial disk incomplete ; tail long and graduated, narrowly
barred and broadly tipped with white ; under parts white, barred
with dark reddish-brown ; feet covered to the claws with greyish-
white feathers; bill yellowish-white ; irides straw-yellow; no oper-
culum. Length 15 to 16 in. ; the female being larger than the
male, and having the dark bars on the under parts slightly broader
and more rufous.

STRICT D/E.

297

THE SCOPS-OWL.

Scops giu (Scopoli).

This, the smallest Owl which occurs in the British Islands,
was first noticed as a visitor in the spring of 1805, when speci-
mens were obtained in Yorkshire. Since that time examples
have been recorded from Essex, Middlesex, Bucks, Berks, Wilts,
Cornwall, Pembrokeshire, Lancashire and Cumberland; but the
often-repeated story of the breeding of the Scops-Owl at Castle-
Eden Dene in Durham is untrue, while as regards the five or six
occurrences ascribed to Norfolk, Mr. J. H. Gurney jun. considers
only one — that of November 1861 — can be implicitly relied on.
The statement that one was shot in Sutherland late in May
1854, is accepted by Messrs. Harvie-Brown and Buckley. In Ire-
land one was killed in co. Meath in 1837, one in Wexford in the
spring of 1847, and a third near Belfast in November 1883.

The Scops-Owl is only a summer-visitor even to the temperate
portions of Europe, seldom extending its migrations as far north
as Holland, Belgium, Northern France, or Cisalpine Switzerland.
Beyond the Alps and the Carpathians it is not uncommon ; while
in the south of France, the Spanish Peninsula, and Italy, and
thence eastward to Greece, Turkey and Southern Russia, it be-
comes abundant. In fact, it is found in summer as far north as

29S

SCOPS-OWL.

the grape annually ripens, but it is most numerous in those countries
in which the olive-tree grows, although it may ascend there to ele-
vations far above the oil-producing zone. In the Mediterranean
basin it appears to be to some extent resident, as it is also in por-
tions of Northern Africa; but large numbers pass onward and
winter in Abyssinia and Senaar. It is common in summer in Asia
Minor, Palestine, Persia and Turkestan ; but in the Indian and
African regions it has several representatives of more or less specific
distinctness.

About the middle of May the Scops-Owl lays its white eggs (5-6
in number and measuring about 1-25 by 1 in.) in some hollow tree
or in a hole in a wall ; in the south of France it is said to make use
of old Magpies’ nests, but confirmation of this statement is required.
It is partial to cork-woods and to groves of trees on the banks of
rivers ; while its note may frequently be heard in the gardens of large
cities, such as Seville and Florence. To my ear its cry is a clear,
metallic, ringing ki-ou —whence the Italian names Chiu or Ciit— but
Mr. Seebohm renders it by ahp. This Owl is particularly noc-
turnal, and, except when disturbed, I never saw it on the wing in
the day-time, during which it remains perched across a branch, often
close to the stem; resembling, beneath the shady foliage, some
gnarled stump or knot, which, on a tap being given to the trunk,
will be seen to shoot up to double its former height and exhibit a
pair of ear-tufts. So abundant is it on the wood-fringed banks of
the Tagus and the Jarama that I have found over a score in an
afternoon’s ramble. It feeds on beetles, grasshoppers, large moths
and other insects, mice, and small birds.

The general colour of the plumage is grey, with a dark centre to
each feather and vermiculations of various shades of brown ; facial
disk incomplete above the eyes ; ear-tufts conspicuous when erected ;
legs feathered, but feet bare ; beak black ; irides yellow ; no oper-
culum. Length about 7 in. The female is often rather more rufous
than the male, while the young are decidedly so.

Examples of the American Scops asio are said to have been
obtained in Yorkshire and in Norfolk, but no credence need be
attached to these statements.

STRIGIDA-:.

299

THE EAGLE-OWL:

BtJBO ignavus, T. Forster.

Occurrences in Great Britain of this large and handsome species
have from time to time been recorded ; but some of these are
known — while others may be suspected — to refer to examples which
have escaped from that semi-captivity in which this Owl is often
kept. Birds which were probably genuine migrants from Northern
Europe have, however, been obtained, at long intervals, in the
Orkney and Shetland Islands and on the mainland of Scotland ;
while in England, besides other records, a female which showed no
sign of having been in confinement was shot near Stamford in
Lincolnshire, in April 1879. There is no evidence that the Eagle-
Owl has ever visited Ireland. In the collection of Dr. Biikett, how-
ever, is, or was, a ‘ Horned ’ Owl said to have been shot in co.
Waterford on January 27th 185 r — though only labelled in 1862 ; it

3°°

EAGLE-OWL.

was afterwards wrongly identified (Zool. 1 88 1 , pp. 262, 308) as the
American B. virginianus, and subsequently proved to be B. macu-
losus (Zool. 1882, p. 460), a native of South Africa, like Dr. Birkett’s
‘Gold-vented Thrush,’ also said to have been shot in co. Water-
ford, in winter !

The Eagle-Owl inhabits the forest-covered, rugged and mountainous
districts of Europe, from Scandinavia, Lapland and Northern Russia
to the Mediterranean ; as well as Africa north of the Atlas Moun-
tains. Specimens from beyond the Volga are pale in colour, while
east of the Ural Mountains and across Siberia a still paler form,
B. sibiricus, is found ; though birds from China and the south of
Japan are identical with those from Europe. In Central Asia the
representative variety is the rather smaller B. turcomanus , which
appears to connect the European race with the shorter-eared and
fairly distinct species, B. ascalaphus , inhabiting Egypt and North-
eastern Africa. America is occupied by B. virginianus and its sub-
divisions.

In the forest regions the Eagle-Owl deposits its eggs in some wide
fork or other convenient place in a large tree, sometimes making
use of an old nest of another bird ; but in the mountains it lays
them on slightly overhung ledges, or on crags, among the roots of
trees ; it is rather partial to the sides of narrow gorges, and is not
averse to the proximity of a cottage. Incubation often commences
early in April ; the eggs being 2 and never more than 3 in
number, nearly round in shape, and creamy-white in colour : average
measurements 2^3 by i-9 in. No nest is originally made, but the
young are often found upon an accumulation of castings and the
fur of rats, rabbits, hares and other mammals; which, with birds,
form the food of this predatory species. In Spain and the Pyrenees
the peasants make a practice of robbing its nest of the game sup-
plied daily to the young by the parent birds and substituting any
available offal ; for which reason the position is seldom revealed
until the young are nearly ready to fly. The Eagle-Owl seeks its
prey by day as well as by night. Its cry, chiefly uttered early in
the spring, is a loud hoot. In confinement this species breeds
freely and has been known to live to a great age.

The general colour of the upper parts is dark brown or black,
mottled with tawny-yellow ; wings and tail transversely barred ; 1
under parts yellowish-brown with dark streaks and bars ; head with
long ear-tufts ; no operculum ; legs thickly feathered to the toes ; \
irides bright orange. Length of the male about 24 in. ; of the
female 28 in.

VUI/TURID/E.

3° I

Gyps fulvus (J. F. Gmelin).

In the spring of 1843 a bird tlr*s sPecies vvas caught alive
(presumably gorged or injured), on the rocks near Cork Harbour,
and is now preserved in the collection at Trinity College, Dublin.
It was described by Thompson as being in adult plumage ; but,
alter examination, I have no hesitation in saying that it is im-
mature. There is no other instance of the capture of this Vulture in
the British Islands ; though an eminently cautious ornithologist, who
must have seen thousands of Griffons, but who will not allow his
name to be mentioned, informed me a few years since that he had
recently watched one soaring around, near Southampton Water.

T H E G R 1 F FON- V U LT UR E.

302

GRIFFON-VULTURE.

The Griffon-Vulture breeds in small numbers not far from
Biarritz, and in several localities just within the French frontier on
the northern side of the Pyrenees; also in the Departments of
Hautes and Basses Alpes and Alpes Maritimes. Throughout the
mountainous portions of the Spanish Peninsula it is common, as it
is in most of the situations suitable to its habits in Southern Europe
and along the basins of the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian
Seas; but north of the Alps and the Carpathians it is of very rare
occurrence, although it has been obtained in Germany and Poland.
In Russia it is found up to about lat. 50° and along the Ural
Mountains it has considerably extended its range northward during
the last thirty years. In Asia it can be traced to Turkestan and
Northern India, where, however, it meets with a larger form which
has been separated as G. himalayensis ; while in Africa it is resi-
dent as far south as Nubia, though represented by G. kolbi in the
South.

Towards the end of January the Griffon-Vultures may be seen
building or repairing their nests with branches of trees and claws-
full of grass torn up by the roots. Their usual resorts are overhung
ledges, cavities and fissures, such as are especially frequent in lime-
stone ranges, and are seldom accessible from above without a rope ;
while owing to thick scrub the base of the cliff is often unattain-
able. In the latter part of bebruary, though sometimes not till
the end of March, 1 and not unfrequently 2 eggs are laid ; they are
rough in texture, and usually white in colour, but some are more or
less marked with genuine blotches of a rusty-brown, as well as
with blood-stains: average measurements 37 by 2-8 in. A strong
and unpleasant musky smell pervades the eggs, the nest, and the
whole dung-splashed ledge. Like other Vultures, this species
hunts by means of its keen sight ; the alteration in the flight
of the nearest bird, on the discovery of a carcase or other carrion,
being quickly noticed and followed-up by more distant individuals.
During the lambing season I have seen it on the ground, assiduous
in its attendance upon the ewes ; but it is an arrant coward and I
never knew of its touching any living thing. It is at all times
somewhat gregarious.

1 he general colour is buffish-brown, with black on the wings and
tail ; the head and neck are covered with whitish down ; and there
is a broad ruff, which is composed of long whitish filaments in the
adult, but of brownish acuminate feathers in the young ; under
paits striated buff in the adult; warm fulvous in the young. Length
about 42 in.

VULTURID/E.

3°3

Neophron percnopterus (Linnaeus).

In October 1825 two birds of this species are said to have been
observed near Kilve, on the shores of Bridgewater Bay in Somerset-
shire, and one, gorged with the carcase of a sheep, was shot. It
proved to be in immature plumage ; as was another example killed
on September 28th 1868, in a farm-yard at Peldon, Essex, to which
it had been attracted by the blood of some geese.

The Egyptian Vulture has wandered to Norway and Germany, but
its nearest nesting-place is in the cliffs of Mont Salfeve (just within
French territory), near Geneva ; though further south it is not un-
common in summer, arriving in Provence and the Pyrenees early in
March. It is usually seen in pairs, and never breeds in colonies ;
but a couple or two are to be seen near almost every mountain-
range in the Spanish Peninsula and in Southern Europe generally,
especially in the basins of the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian
Seas. It inhabits Madeira, the Canaries, the Cape Verd Islands,
and North Africa from Morocco to Egypt and the Red Sea ; while
tn winter it goes down to Cape Colony. From Asia Minor and

THE EGYPTIAN VULTURE.

3° 4

EGYPTIAN VULTURE.

Palestine we trace it to Persia and Turkestan, but the smaller Indian
form has been distinguished as IV. ginginianus.

The nest, built of branches and rubbish, sometimes on a former
abode of the Bearded Vulture, Raven or other large bird, is usually
placed on a ledge of rock; but in Turkey it is often in cypress and
other trees. The eggs, 2 in number, are seldom laid in Europe
before April 10th ; they are creamy-white, blotched and often richly
suffused with chocolate-red or claret colour: measurements 2^5 by
2 in. This Vulture feeds on the lowest animal and vegetable refuse
and dung of all kinds ; it may also be seen following the plough,
with long, slow strides, for what it can pick up. But though its
habits are repulsive, it is a magnificent bird on the wing, circling
round without a flap of its outspread pinions, or at times sweeping
low over the ground, like a Harrier.

The adult is white, with black primaries ; the fore part of the
head and neck yellow and devoid of feathers ; irides crimson ; legs
and feet flesh-colour. Length 25-27 in. The young bird, repre-
sented in the vignette, is dark brown, with greyish head and neck ;
irides brown. The full plumage is not obtained until the fourth
year.

FALCONIIVE.

3°5

CfRCus acrugin6sus (Linnaeus).

This species — better known as the Moor-Buzzard, while ‘ moor r
retained a signification allied to ‘ mire ’ or ‘ marsh ’ — is now all
but banished from the number of our indigenous birds. The
principal cause of its decrease in England has been the drainage of
the fens in the eastern districts, and the reclamation of the marshy
wastes in Somerset, Dorset, Shropshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire and
some other counties, where it used to breed until within the last
twenty or thirty years. At the present day a pair or two, probably
colonists from Holland, almost annually attempt to rear their broods
in the Broad district of Norfolk, but are rarely, if ever, allowed to
succeed; and I know of no other county in which this Harrier has
recently nested, though migrants from the Continent occur in spring
and autumn. In Scotland it is very rare, even in the Solway district,
which is not altogether unsuited to its habits ; the only example Mr.
Booth ever saw was an immature bird in East Lothian ; single
instances are on record from Dumbartonshire and from Scalpa,
near Skye ; Mr. Macleay of Inverness has received but one in all
his long experience ; and Mr. G. Sim of Aberdeen tells me that

THE MARSH- HARRIER.

B B

MARSH-HARRIER.

3°6

only a solitary male, shot May 12th 1881, has passed through his
hands in thirty years. Statements respecting its breeding in Aber-
deenshire, Banffshire & c., are simply incredible. Ireland offers
many more congenial situations ; and the bird was formerly
common about Lough Erne in co. Fermanagh, along the valley of
the Shannon, in co. Cork, and other districts ; but since 1840 the
keepers have nearly succeeded in exterminating it by the use of
poison.

In Norway the Marsh-Harrier is of accidental occurrence, but it
nests in the south of Sweden, and in Russia is found in summer up
to Archangel, though not abundant north of the Volga. In Middle
and Southern Russia it is common, and, in the latter, resident ; but
from the northern districts it migrates in the cold season, as it
does — at least partially — from Poland, Denmark, Germany, Holland,
Belgium and the north of France. In the marshes of the Spanish
Peninsula, Italy, and the rest of Southern Europe it is abundant
throughout the year, as it is also in some parts of North Africa,
from Morocco to Egypt ; while in winter it has been observed in
Abyssinia and even in the Transvaal. Eastward it is found from
Asia Minor to Northern China and Japan ; migrating in the cold
season to Turkestan, Southern Siberia, India, and Ceylon.

The nest, built of reeds and dry grass, is a large firm structure,
usually placed on a mass of sedge, and occasionally on the lower
branches of a tree standing in or on the confines of a marsh. The
eggs, 3-5 in number, are pale bluish-white, seldom if ever with
genuine brown markings : average measurements 2 in. by 1 5 in.
In the season the Marsh-Harrier is a sad destroyer of the eggs
and young of waterfowl j but during the greater part of the year it
feeds on small mammals, birds, frogs and reptiles ; the scarcity of
the two latter in winter being one cause of its departure from the
north of Europe.

Old males have the head creamy-white, streaked with umber ;
mantle brown ; primaries blackish ; rest of wings, and tail, silvery-
grey j under parts buff, striped with brown on the breast and chest-
nut on the belly and thighs j under-wing white. In the female the
mantle, tail and under parts are brown. Young birds are chocolate-
brown, but the males have the entire crown of the head buffish-
white, while the females have a yellowish patch streaked with brown,
on the nape only ; in subsequent stages the plumage of this species
varies greatly. Length : male 21 in. ; female 23 in.

FALCONID/E.

3°7

Circus cyaneus (Linnaeus).

1 he Hen-Harrier frequents higher and less marshy ground than
the preceding species, and although it undoubtedly used to breed in
the fen-district of Eastern England before the spread of drainage
and agricultural improvements, it was probably not common there;
Montagu’s Harrier being often taken for it. Of late years its num-
bers have been so far thinned by game-preservers that it is now only
to be found nesting on a few of the wildest and most extensive
moorlands and wastes in England and Wales. Even in Scotland,
where it was formerly numerous, it is rapidly decreasing as a breeding-
species ; but in autumn young birds are sometimes very abundant,
while the adults also come down from the moors to the lowlands
and the male attracts especial attention, owing to his pale grey
plumage. These remarks apply equally to Ireland. Few — and
those old birds — are to be met with in any part of the British Islands
during the colder months of winter.

In Norway, Lapland, and Northern Russia, the Hen-Harrier is
found in summer about as far north as lat. 69°, though rare near
that limit; and it is only south of 62° that it becomes at all

THE HEN-HARRIER.

B B 2

HEN-HARRIER.

308

numerous in the last-named country. From March or April until
autumn it is to be found in suitable localities in Denmark, Holland,
Germany, &c., down to the Alps and the Carpathians ; in France —
where from its abundance on migration in November it is called
Busard Saint-Martin — comparatively few breed below the central
provinces ; and although a limited number are resident in the north
of the Spanish Peninsula and in Italy, yet throughout the basin of
the Mediterranean it is chiefly known in winter and on passage, when
it also visits Morocco, Algeria, and North-Eastern Africa as far south
as Abyssinia. Eastward it is found across Asia — down to Canton
in winter, and a little above the Arctic circle in summer. Over
the northern half of America it is represented by a closely-allied
species, C. hudsonius.

When placed on the bare hill-side the nest is often a slight
structure, though, if in deep heather or a dried-up marsh, it is
frequently a mass of roots and plant-stems a foot or so high ; in
Germany a grain-field is a favourite site : whence the name
Korn-weihe. The eggs, 4-6 in number, are bluish-white, excep-
tionally with genuine yellowish-brown or rusty markings : average
measurements i-8 by 1*4 in. Incubation, which devolves upon
the female, seldom commences before the latter part of May, and
lasts three weeks. Like other Harriers, this species quarters the
ground with great regularity in search of the small mammals, birds
and reptiles, which form its food ; but though destructive to game,
there is no evidence that it is an especial scourge of the poultry-
yard, as might be inferred from its vernacular name. The flight is
particularly buoyant, and generally low ; but, when soaring or
hovering, the light-coloured rump is very noticeable.

The adult male has the upper parts pale slate-grey ; rump white 3
throat and breast bluish-grey; remaining under parts white. In
younger males there are five ashy bars on the tail, and brown streaks
on the flanks, thighs and nape ; cere, irides and legs yellow. Length
x9 in. The female is brown above, streaked with white on the nape
and on the edges of a distinct facial ruff ; rump white, marked with
rufous ; tail brown, with five darker bars— whence this sex was
formerly called the Ring-tail, and was considered a distinct species;
under parts buffish-brown, with darker stripes. Length 21 in. The
young resemble the female, and, like her, have brown irides, but

their plumage is more rufous in tint. (

In these two species— and, I believe, in all except Montagu s and
the Pallid Harrier — the outer webs of the primaries to the 50
inclusive are notched or emarginate.

FALCON ID/E.

3°9

MONTAGU'S HARRIER.

Circus cineraceus (Montagu).

This species, first distinguished from the Hen-Harrier by Mon-
tagu, is smaller and more slender, with proportionately longer wings ;
and in any stage of plumage it may infallibly be recognized by the
outer web of its 5th primary having no notch or emargination.
Montagu’s Harrier was never a resident in the British Islands, as
erroneously stated by a recent author ; on the contrary, it is merely
a spring and summer visitor to the northern half of Europe, nor is
its range in that direction extensive. To us it comes in April, and
a pair or two make a nest — often fruitlessly — almost every year in
Norfolk; while instances are on record of its having bred of late
years in Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Hants — including the Isle of
Wight — and other counties of England, as well as in Wales ; and
it even reaches to Yorkshire, beyond which it is rare. In the Solway
district a female, which had evidently been sitting, was shot, accord-
ing to Mr. R. Service, on June 15th 1882, and there have been a few
other occurrences : but except in the south it is unknown in Scot-
land, and statements that it has bred in Sutherland or visited Caithness
are unfounded. In Ireland only three examples have been obtained,

Montagu’s harrier.

3io

namely in October 1848, October 1849, and in 1877 ; all near Bray,
co. Wicklow.

The St. Petersburg district and the Gulf of Finland appear to
mark the extreme northern breeding-limits of this Harrier ; but it is
abundant in summer in Central and Southern Russia, and on the
steppes of the latter a few remain throughout the winter. In Denmark
and in the north of Germany it is not numerous ; but to the central
and southern districts of the latter it is a regular visitor, arriving in
March and leaving in October; while in Holland, Belgium, and
many parts of France it is common, large flocks often congregating
at the time of migration. A considerable number are resident in
suitable localities in the Spanish Peninsula and other parts of the
south of Europe, a large increase taking place in winter ; and many
are killed in Malta on their passage to and from Africa. In the cold
season Montagu’s Harrier occurs in the Canaries, Morocco, Algeria,
Egypt, Abyssinia and as far south as Cape Colony ; while in Asia
its range extends to Turkestan and the south-west of Siberia in
summer, and in winter to India, Ceylon and Burma.

The nest is often a mere hollow lined with dry grass and bordered
with twigs, in the middle of a small clearing in gorse or heather,
and, on the Continent, in a field of grain ; but in the fens it is mere
substantially built of sedge. The eggs, laid at intervals of two or
three days, about the end of May, are usually pale bluish-white, but
sometimes spotted with reddish-brown : average measurements, 17
by i"3 in. I never found the male bird on the nest. Like other
Harriers, this species eats small mammals and birds, but its food
consists principally of grass-snakes, vipers, lizards and other reptiles,
large insects, such as grasshoppers and locusts, and, during the season,
eggs of other birds. From the crop of a male I once took two un-
broken eggs of the Crested Lark, and the crushed remains of others.
The flight is very light and elegant ; the young sometimes circle and
hover with out-spread wings and tail, like Kestrels, though less
steadily, and the white colour of the rump distinguishes them.

The adult male has the upper parts slate-grey, with a black bar
across the secondaries; throat and breast ash-grey; lower parts
white streaked with rufous. Varieties reaching to an entirely sooty-
black are not uncommon in this sex, but are rare in the female. The
latter is usually brown above, and buffish-white streaked with rufous-
brown below ; the young are similar, but almost chestnut on the
under parts. Length : male about 18 in. ; female 19 in.

FALCONID/E.

3 1 1

THE COMMON BUZZARD.

BriTEO vulgaris, Leach.

As regards the British Islands, the epithet ‘ common ’ is annually
becoming less and less applicable to this species ; but there are
wild and wooded districts in England — especially on the western
side— and in Wales, where the bird may still be seen circling high in
air, and be heard uttering its plaintive mewing cry. Fifty years ago
it used to breed in Norfolk and in other counties abounding with
Partridges and ground-game, without being considered incompatible
with their existence; but with the increase of Pheasant-worship the
doom of the Buzzard was sealed, for the larger the ‘ Hawk,’ the
worse it must necessarily be ! In Scotland it is less persecuted and
more widely distributed, though only a visitor to the Outer Hebrides,
Orkneys and Shetlands. In Ireland, according to Mr. More, it
still nests in small numbers, but it usually occurs as a migrant in
autumn.

The northern breeding-limit of the Common Buzzard appears to
be about lat. 66° in Sweden ; but in Russia, according to Dr. Menz-
bier, it is seldom found to the east of the Baltic Provinces or of the
Vistula ; beyond which its place is taken by the more rufous African
Buzzard (£. desertorum of many authors) : and he thinks that where
the two forms or species meet they interbreed. From Poland

3t 2

COMMON BUZZARD.

westward, the Common Buzzard is generally distributed throughout
Europe ; migrating to some extent from Northern Germany during
the colder months — when immense flights have been observed over
Heligoland— but residing in the central districts. In the south of
Europe, though sometimes seen on passage in very large numbers, it
is rather local as a breeding-species; while in North Africa, Egypt,
and Western Asia, the resident form is the aforesaid B. desertorum.
It is, however, the Common Buzzard which inhabits the Canaries
and Madeira, while the Azores owe their name to its abundance in
that group when discovered by the Portuguese.

Cliffs, especially those covered with ivy or scrub, are favourite
resorts in Wales, the Lake country, and Scotland ; but in wooded
districts the nest is usually built in a tree, and, when placed in a
fork, is frequently a deep, bulky structure of sticks, with a slight
cavity on the top, which is lined and surrounded with green
leaves ; these being renewed from time to time, until the young
have attained considerable size. The eggs, 3-4 in number, are
greyish-white, more or less blotched and streaked with reddish-
brown and pale lilac : average measurements 2-25 by 175 in. Both
birds take part in incubation, which usually begins about the middle
of April and lasts three weeks. Not long ago the Buzzard was still
common in the New Forest, but the bark-strippers are at work in April,
when the nest is easily seen through the scanty foliage; and by the
offer of five shillings for a well-marked egg the collector of ‘ British-
taken ’ specimens has done his best to destroy the remnant which
have escaped the gamekeeper. There is no evidence that this
species is destructive to Partridges or Pheasants, its ordinary food
consisting of field-mice, moles and other small mammals, frogs,
reptiles, grasshoppers &c. ; it also takes small birds when it can
pounce upon them unawares, but it never attempts to fly them
down. Unless pressed by hunger, it is decidedly sluggish in its
habits, and will remain perched for hours; though when on the wing
its spiral gyrations are remarkably graceful.

The plumage varies greatly, irrespective of sex or locality ; very
old birds are dark bluish-black above, and have only a few light
markings on the breast ; tail brown, with twelve darker bars ; legs
bare of feathers and yellow in colour. Length : male 20 in. ;
female 22 in. Very handsome varieties— ranging from cream-colour
mottled with brown to pure white — are often found on the Continent.
The young bird has the throat brown, streaked with white ; breast
spotted with brown on a white ground; tail greyish-brown, with only
ten dark bars.

THE ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD.

Buteo lagopus (J. F. Gmelin).

The Rough-legged Buzzard— distinguishable at a glance from
the preceding species by having the front and sides of the legs
feathered to the toes — is an irregular autumnal visitor to England ;
considerable numbers, chiefly immature birds, sometimes making
their appearance in the eastern counties, and, if unmolested, remain-
ing for the winter. In the southern and western districts it is less
frequent ; but it is not rare in the midlands, and its line of migra-
tion appears to follow the Pennine range. In some of the northern
and eastern parts of Scotland it is of almost annual occurrence ;
and in the winters of 1875-76 and 1880-81, it was very numerous
in the south. To Ireland, however, its visits have only been
recorded some six or seven times. The often-repeated statement
that the Rough-legged Buzzard nested “year after year, on the
ground, amongst the heather, in the moor-dells,” near Hackness, in
Yorkshire, rests upon a gamekeeper’s recollections of twenty-four
years back, and is so contrary to the known habits of the bird, that

FALCONIDiE.

3i4

ROUGHrLEGGED BUZZARD.

it is amazing to find it has been seriously accepted. The assertion by
Thomas Edward that the nestlings were taken from a wood near
Banff in 1864, is far less unlikely, though probably as incorrect as
many of his other records of rarities.

The Rough-legged Buzzard is the commonest bird of prey in the
higher districts of Scandinavia, and — beyond the wooded region — in
Russia ; in the latter it breeds, irregularly, as far south as lat. 56°, as
well as in the Baltic Provinces; while in winter it goes down to the
northern shores of the Caspian and to the Asiatic side of the Black
Sea. Eastward it is found in Siberia as far as the watershed of the
Yenesei and the Lena in summer (Seebohm), and in Turkestan
during the cold season. Wanderers have occurred in Malta and
other islands of the Mediterranean, as well as on the mainland of
Italy ; but the bird recorded under this name by Spanish authors is
the Booted Eagle, Aquila pennata : the Rough-legged Buzzard is,
however, an occasional winter-visitor to the Pyrenees ; though only
frequent to the north of the Alps and the Carpathians. In North
America it is represented by the more rufous and darker B. sancti-
jo/iatinis, fondly believed to visit England by owners of deep-coloured
examples of the European bird.

The nest is built of sticks when placed in trees, but is a slighter
structure lined with grass when on a crag. The eggs, often laid
by the middle of May, are from 3-5 in number, and similar to those
of the preceding species ; though the average dimensions are a trifle
larger, and the markings are sometimes very handsome. This
Buzzard feeds, to some extent, on frogs, reptiles and birds, but
largely on such small mammals as lemmings, moles and mice ; it
can even manage an Arctic hare, while its partiality for rabbits has
often proved fatal to it on the warrens of Norfolk and Suffolk.
Open or marshy moorlands are more to its taste than wooded
districts, in which respect it differs from the Common Buzzard;
its flight is bolder ; and in the air the white on. the tail forms a
good distinction. By some authorities this and other species with
feathered legs have been placed in a separate genus, Archibuteo.

The general colour of the adult is buffish-white, variegated with
several shades of brown, darkest on the back and rump ; basal part
of tail white, and the remainder with two or three dark brown bars
on a mottled ground ; legs feathered to the toes on the front and
sides. Length 23—26 in. ; the female being larger than the male.
The immature bird, represented in the woodcut, is browner in
plumage and has less white on the tail ; the under parts are streaked
— not barred — with brown.

FALCON ID,.®.

3*5

THE SPOTTED EAGLE.

Aquila N/feviA (J. F. Gmelin).

In January 1845 two examples of this rare wanderer to the British
Islands were shot near Youghal in Ireland, and one of them — an
immature bird — is preserved in the Museum of Trinity College,
Dublin. On December 4th i860, and early in November 1861,
two young males were shot in Cornwall, as recorded by the late
E. H. Rodd; Mr. Durnford states that one was picked up dead
on Walney Island, Lancashire, in 1875 ; and on October 31st 1885
an example was obtained in Northumberland.

It is probable that the specific name generally employed was
originally intended for a small form which breeds in the forests of
Northern Germany, and becomes numerous in Pomerania and the
Baltic Provinces of Russia, though rare on the eastern side of the
Gulf of Bothnia, and only a straggler to Sweden and Lapland.
Southward this can be traced through Poland and the marshy woods

316

SPOTTED EAGLE.

to the west of the Dnieper, down to Bessarabia ; as well as to the
Caucasus. A larger form (which slightly intrudes on this area)
occupies the forest-region to the eastward and southward as far as
the steppes ; beyond which it extends across Turkestan and Central
Asia to Northern China; and to some parts of India, Persia and
Asia Minor. It nests in Turkey, the districts watered by and south
ot the Danube, and suitable localities in Italy and the islands of the
Mediterranean ; also, sparingly, in North Africa. In the south of
Spain it is not common, but I frequently saw and heard it in the
Pyrenees ; in France and Belgium it is rare, except on the woqded
south-eastern frontier, towards Switzerland and Luxemburg. In
winter both races migrate entirely from their northern, and partially
from their southern haunts in Europe ; numbers ascending the Nile
valley to Abyssinia. As regards the adults, the only difference is
that of size ; an average male of the larger form being equal to a
female of the smaller, so that the races can only be separated on
dissection. In the young of the smaller form there is usually a
more defined huffish patch on the nape, but the pale spots of the
upper parts are limited to the secondaries and wing-coverts : whereas
in the larger form these spots are also found on the scapulars and
rump. If entitled to specific distinction, Mr. J. H. Gurney refers
all the British examples which he has examined to the larger form,
the A. clanga of Pallas; a name which has, unfortunately, been
freely applied by ornithologists, especially on the Continent, to a
larger and distinct species, the Steppe-Eagle, A. ortentalis.

The nest, almost invariably built in a tall tree, is a large flat
structure of sticks, with a slight lining of fresh twigs, leaves or
grass ; the eggs, laid early in May, and usually 2 but sometimes
3 in number, are greyish-white, streaked and often boldly blotched
with ruddy-brown and blood-red : average measurements 2^5 by
2' 1 in. Nests found on the ground in the Dobrudscha and
South Russia, and formerly ascribed to this speeies, prove to be
those of the Steppe- Eagle. The food consists largely of frogs ;
also of reptiles, grasshoppers, small birds and mammals. 1 he
cry, loud and shrill, is repeatedly uttered in spring.

The general colour of the adult is warm cofiee-brown or greyish-
brown, according to the age of the feathers. 1 he young bird is
dark purplish-brown, with pale edges to the upper feathers as is
well shown in the cut — and ochreous streaks on the under parts.
Length of wing from 18 to 20 in. in the male; 19 to 22 in. in
the female. The nostril is round, not oval ; the legs, feathered to
the toes, are rather long and slender.

FALCON I D.-E

317

THE GOLDEN EAGLE.

Aquila chrysaetus (Linnceus).

Authenticated occurrences of this fine species in the south of
England are exceedingly rare, for the birds recorded as Golden
Eagles generally prove to be examples of the White-tailed or Sea-
Eagle in the tawny-brown plumage of immaturity ; the two can,
however, be infallibly distinguished by their feet, as pointed out on
p. 320. Single specimens have been obtained in Norfolk and Lin-
colnshire ; while northward in England the visits of this species
are not much more frequent, although about two centuries ago it
bred in Derbyshire and Wales, and almost within the last hundred
years in the Cheviots and the Lake district. Across the Border,
as Mr. R. Service informs me, there were eyries up to 1833 in the

3'8

GOLDEN EAGLE.

Moffat Hills, and for some years after 1850 in Ayrshire,
and- Gallo war. To the Lowlands of Scotland the Golden Eagle is,
even now, not an unfrequent visitor in the cold season ; but its
breeding-places are confined to the Highlands and the islands on
the western side, where, owing to the protection afforded by many
of the proprietors of deer-forests, its numbers, severely thinned in
former years by grouse-preservers and sheep-farmers, have to some
extent recovered ; it no longer, however, nests in the Orkneys, and
has never been known to do so in the Shetlands. In Ireland only
a few pairs remain, in the north and west.

The Golden Eagle inhabits the mountainous and some of the
forest regions of Europe, from Lapland to the Mediterranean ; of
North Africa ; of Asia as far west as Kamschatka, the Amoor and
Japan, and southward to the Himalayas; and of North America;
but it is unknown in Greenland. Over this vast area consider-
able variations in size and plumage are observed : — examples from
Western Europe being darker than those from the Central and
Southern portion ; adults as well as young from the eastern half of
Russia have a great deal of white at the base of the tail ; and the
maximum of size appears to be attained in the lofty ranges of
Central Asia and the Himalayas. Four distinct species, one of
which is divided into five varieties, are recognized by the Russian
naturalists.

The nest — generally placed on a crag in mountainous regions,
but often in a tree, and occasionally on the ground — is a large
platform of sticks, lined with softer materials, such as the cone-
shaped tufts of Luzula sylvatica. The eggs, laid early in April, are
usually 2, and sometimes 3 in number, though an instance of 4
is recorded by Sir J. W. P. Campbell-Orde. Some are dull greyish-
white or mottled-buff, while others are streaked and blotched, and
often richly suffused with every shade of reddish-brown and lilac :
average measurements 2^9 by 2-3 in. In Scotland the “Black”
Eagle, as it is called, feeds to a great extent upon mountain-hares,
and on the Continent upon marmots and similar animals ; it also
takes lambs, grouse and other birds ; occasionally fawns, and the
‘ calves ’ of red deer; nor does it despise carrion. Its note is a
shrill squeal, ending in an abrupt bark.

The general colour is dark brown, tawny on the nape; the tail is
mottled with dark grey in the adults ; but the basal half is white in
the young, in which also the body-feathers are white at the base ;
thighs dark brown ; legs feathered to the toes. Length 32-36 in.,
the female being larger than the male.

FALCONlD^i.

3*9

THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE.

Hauaetus albicIlla (Linnaeus).

Immature examples of this species — also called Erne, Cinereous or
Sea-Eagle — are not unfrequently observed in the maritime counties
of . England in autumn and winter, when the birds reared in the
northern parts of Europe are on their migration southward ; adults
are, however, of very rare occurrence. Within the last hundred
years the White-tailed Eagle bred in the Isle of Man, the Lake
district, and Galloway, Dumfriesshire and other places in the south
of Scotland ; but now its eyries are confined to the western and
northern coast, and the islands, including the Shetlands. In Ireland,
where it was formerly more numerous than the Golden Eagle, its
propensities for carrion have led to its destruction by poison, and
only on the west coast can a pair or two be found.

32°

WHITE- TAILED EAGLE.

The White-tailed Eagle is now only a visitor to the Faeroes; but it
is a resident in Iceland, and also in the south of Greenland, though
a migrant from the northern districts in winter. In North America
it is represented by the Bald Eagle, H. lencocephalus, a species with
a pure white head and neck, which has erroneously been supposed
to occur in Iceland and Scandinavia, and even in Ireland. On the
Continent it inhabits the neighbourhood of salt or fresh water, in
Scandinavia, Denmark, Northern Germany, Russia, the valley of
the Danube, and Turkey ; while on migration it visits the rest of
Europe, the Canaries, and Northern Africa. It breeds in the
reed-beds of Lake Menzaleh in Lower Egypt ; and eastward we
trace it across Asia — to Kamschatka and Manchuria in summer, and
to Japan, China and India in winter. Though it wanders to the
Commander Islands, the only species known in the long Aleutian
chain is the American Bald Eagle.

The nest, similar to that of the Golden Eagle, is, in Scotland,
often placed on a sea-cliff, but sometimes on an inland rock ;
frequently in a tree or wide-spreading bush on some small island
in a loch, and occasionally on the ground. One found by the Hon.
Murray Finch-Hatton (now Lord Winchilsea) in the marshes of
Lower Egypt, resembled a gigantic nest of the Marsh-Harrier,
being raised to a considerable height above the deep mud by
which it was surrounded. The eggs, usually 2 in number, dull
white in colour, and measuring about 2-85 by 2-2 in., are laid in
Scotland in April ; but as early as February or March in the south-
east of Europe, and January in Egypt. Few kinds of fish, flesh, fowl,
or carrion come amiss to this species. The cry is a loud yelp.

The head and neck are ash-white in very old birds ; upper parts
brown ; primaries nearly black ; tail wedge-shaped, and white in
colour ; under parts dark brown ; beak, cere, irides, legs and feet
yellow. Length : male 28 in. ; female 34 in. The young bird is
dark brown, mottled with fulvous on the mantle and wings ; tail dark
brown ; beak black ; cere and irides pale brown. The full plumage
is not attained till the fifth or sixth year. Varieties of a uniform
bluish-grey, yellowish-grey, and silverv-white are on record.

In the White-tailed Eagle the lower part of the tarsus is bare of
feathers, while the whole length of each toe is covered with broad
scales. In the foot of the Golden Eagle the tarsus is clothed with
feathers, and each toe is covered with small reticulations as far as
the last joint, beyond which there are three broad scales.

FALCON I D/F..

32I

THE GOS-HAWK.

Astur palumbArius (Linnaeus).

Adult examples of the Gos-Hawk (>.e. Goose-Hawk) are rarely-
obtained in the British Islands ; but in autumn and winter, and
sometimes in spring, immature birds have occurred, though at long
intervals. These visitors are, naturally, most frequent on the east
coast; but instances are on record from the vicinity of London, the
southern, the midland, and even the western counties. In Scotland,
the celebrated Colonel Thornton received a nestling from the
forest of Rothiemurchus, and saw some eyries in the old fir-woods
in the valley of the Spey, prior to 1804 ; but there is no later proof
that it has bred in any part of Great Britain. Against an assertion
that it has nested in recent times in Kirkcudbrightshire, must be
set the fact that neither Mr. R. Service nor the veteran taxidermist
Mr. Hastings have ever met with an example anywhere in the
Solway district ; and it must be remembered that in many parts of

c c

GOS-HAWK.

322

Scotland the Peregrine Falcon is called the * Gos-Hawk.’ It is
unknown in Sutherland, and nearly so in Caithness and the Shet-
lands. In Ireland only three occurrences are authenticated.

The Gos-Hawk is common in the forest-regions of Scandinavia,
and in those of Russia down to the Black and Caspian Seas ; it is
also abundant in the wooded districts of Germany and Central
Europe generally, nor is it rare in many parts of France. In Italy
and the Spanish Peninsula it is rather scarce and local, though it
breeds as far south as Andalucia, and even in Morocco ; while in
winter it visits Egypt and Palestine. Eastward it ranges across Asia
to China and Japan. The young are the chief migrants southwards
from the northern districts ; the adults only do so in very severe

weather, when food becomes scarce.

Though the old nest of some other species is occasionally repaired,
the bird frequently builds its own, which is a large structure of
sticks, placed in a tree— generally on the outskirts of a forest or
near a clearing. The eggs, laid in April or early in May, are
usually 4 in number, and are pale bluish-grey, but when incubated
they become dirty greenish-yellow, and occasionally show a few
rusty or olive markings : average measurements 2^3 by 1 8 in. The
same nest is used year after year. The Gos-Hawk is a bold and
rapacious species, preying upon hares and smaller mammals, game
birds and poultry j the shortness of its wings and the steering power
given by its comparatively long tail enabling it to follow with
marvellous rapidity every turn of its quarry, which it takes in a
style called by falconers trussing. Its hearing is very acute.

The adult has a narrow white line above the eye and ear-coverts ;
upper parts ashy-brown ; tail with four broad darker bars ; under
parts white, thickly barred with ashy-brown; cere, ins, and legs
yellow. Male : length 20 in., wing 12 in. ; female: length 23 in.,
wing 14 in. The young bird has the upper parts brown, and five
dark bands on the tail ; under parts warm buff, with numerous
drop-shaped markings of dark brown ; iris pearl-white.

\ specimen of the American Gos-Hawk, Astur atncapillus , said
on somewhat slight evidence-to have been obtained in Perthshire
in i860, is in the Edinburgh Museum; and another, shot in 1 p-
perary in 1870, is in the Dublin Museum, where I have examined it.
This distinct though nearly allied species, distinguis a e y
closely freckled — not barred-under parts, is not likely to b
genuine visitor to the British Islands.

FALCONID.E.

323

THE SPARROW-HAWK.

Acc/piter Nfsus (Linnams).

The Sparrow-Hawk is generally distributed in Great Britain from
Sussex to Sutherland, and also in Ireland, wherever there are wood-
lands suited to its tastes. It is emphatically an arboreal species,
and is, naturally, of rare occurrence in the Orkneys, Shetlands, and
Outer Hebrides, where the long-winged Kestrel often bears the
name — as elsewhere it suffers for the delinquencies — of this dashing
short-winged species.

In autumn the Sparrow-Hawk is frequently observed at our light-
ships and stations on the east coast ; and immense numbers some-
times cross Heligoland on their way from higher latitudes — the
young passing first, and the adults following. The breeding-range
extends as far north as the limits of forest-growth, and southward
it reaches to the Mediterranean ; comparatively few, however, remain
to nest in Spain or Italy, where this species is chiefly noticed on
passage, when following the flocks of small birds on which it preys.
It is resident in the Canaries, North Africa, and Egypt as far as
Assouan, and occurs as a migrant in Kordofan. In Asia it is found
across Siberia to the Pacific and Japan, and even breeds, sparingly,
as far south as Cashmere and the Himalayas, while in winter its
range extends to the latitude of Canton. There are at least five
members of this genus, all of which possess a well-defined geographi-

c c 2

324

SPARROW-HAWK.

cal range; hut the only one which need be noticed is the Levant
Sparrow-Hawk, A. brevipes , which inhabits the area between Central
Russia and Syria, and appears to be extending its range in a westerly
direction ; it may be recognized by its much shorter legs.

Like the Gos-Hawk, this species usually builds its own nest —
composed of sticks with a slight lining of twigs — and invariably
places it in a tree, often on the branches close to the bole, or
at the top : sometimes, however, it adapts and adds to the
deserted abode of a Crow, Wood-Pigeon, or other bird. The eggs,
4-5 and occasionally 6 in number, are pale bluish-white, blotched,
mottled, and often zoned with various shades of reddish-brown :
average measurements i’6 by i‘25 in. In this country they are
generally laid early in May, at intervals of two days ; and Mr.
Montagu Browne has recorded the case of a bird which was robbed
of fourteen eggs in one season and fifteen in another, after which
she was left unmolested. When urged by the necessities of a
clamorous brood the Sparrow-Hawk is even more bold and rapacious
than at other times, and is then especially dangerous to the young
of game and poultry ; but the food consists principally of small buds,
which it snaps up in an instant, as it glides with rapid though
stealthy flight along hedges or the skirts of woods. Like all the other
short-winged species, it feeds on the ground — usually under shelter
of a bush or hedgerow, and the small close heap of feathers unmis-
takably marks the spot where it has dined ; for, unlike the Falcons,
the Hawks require both feet to secure their quarry, and do not seem
to know where its life lies, so that perching is awkward for them
(Delme-Radcliffe). In India and Japan it is still prized by the
native falconers ; and in this country it has been trained to take
Quails, Partridges, & c.

The adult male has the upper parts slate-blue, mottled with white
on the nape ; tail greyish-brown, with from three to five dark bars ;
cheeks and ear-coverts bright rufous ; under parts buff, barred with red-
dish-brown ; cere greenish-yellow; irides orange ; legs and feet yellow ,
middle toe very long and slender. Length about 12 in. The female is
much larger, measuring about 15 in. ; her breast is usually greyish-white,
barred with brown, and there is a rufous patch on the flanks ; when
very old, however, she attains the plumage of the adult male, d he
young are brown above, with rufous edges to the feathers ; and the
under parts are white, with rufous-brown bars, so broad on the throat
as almost to deserve the name of spots ; iris pale yellow. Few birds
however, vary so much in plumage and in size as the Sparrow-

Hawk.

FALCON l D.-K.

325

THE KITE.

MIlvus icHnus, Savigny.

This species — formerly known by the old Anglo-Saxon name of
Gled or dead, in allusion to its gliding flight — may, from the colour
of its tail and upper plumage, be called the Red Kite, whenever the
necessity arises for distinguishing it from its congeners. In the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the Kite was so abundant as a
scavenger in the streets of London as to attract the attention of
foreign visitors, and within the recollection ot living persons it was
tolerably common in many of the wooded districts of England,
Wales and Scotland ; but for many years it has not been known to
breed in the southern counties. The last nest known in Lincolnshire
— a former stronghold — was in 1870; and in the few spots still
inhabited in Wales and the Marches, it will soon be exterminated
by the collector of British specimens unless the greatest caution
is observed. In Scotland it survives in a few localities ; but
there the value of its tail-feathers for salmon-flies adds to the
risk which it elsewhere incurs from the gamekeeper. At long
intervals single birds or pairs — wanderers from the Continent — are

32 6

KITE.

observed on the eastern side of Great Britain j but as the Kite
does not often migrate in a westerly direction, the gaps left by the
destruction of our indigenous birds have little chance of being filled.
In Ireland, according to Mr. More, it has only been observed five
or six times.

In Scandinavia the Kite is not known to breed north of lat. 6i°.,
whence it emigrates on the approach of cold weather ; as it does also
from Denmark and Germany, where it is common in summer. In
Russia it is not found to the east of the Governments of Tula and
Orel, or of the river Dnieper. Over the rest of Europe it is generally
distributed, and in most of the countries washed by the Mediterranean
it is common and resident in suitable localities ; as it is also in the
Canaries, Madeira and the Cape Verd Islands. It is not rare in
North Africa as far east as Tunis, though in Egypt it is represented
by M. atgyptius ; it breeds, however, in Palestine and Asia Minor,
while most abundant there in winter.

The nest, which is almost always placed in a tree — though in
North Africa it has been found in rocks — is composed of sticks,
mixed with a variety of rubbish — such as bones, fragments of news-
paper, old rags, and the “ lesser linen ” for which the Kite exhibits
a predilection well known to Shakespeare. The eggs, laid in April
or early in May, and rarely more than 3 in number, are dull
white or very pale blue, spotted, blotched, and sometimes streaked
with reddish-brown: average measurements 2^25 by 175 in. Its
food is offal, small mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs, and fish ; but
though the Kite is destructive to very young game and poultry,
especially when it has to satisfy a brood, and is, at times, bold
enough, it is not a powerful species ; and the old Grouse which have
been found in its nest in Scotland, were probably sickly birds, or
had been robbed from the Peregrine. On the wing the wide
circles of its flight are remarkably graceful ; either side of the out-
spread forked tail being raised or depressed at will, and serving
to govern the bird's course. In the search for prey a large extent
of ground is daily covered. The cry is a shrill whew , heh-heh-heh.

The adult has the head and neck white, striped with black ; mantle
rufous-brown ; primaries blackish ; tail rufous and much forked ;
under parts rusty-red, striped with dark brown on the breast ; under
side of wings whitish with a dark patch (very conspicuous in flight) ;
legs and feet yellow ; iris yellowish-white. Length about 24 in. The
male is a little smaller than the female, but his colours are brighter
and his tail is longer and more forked. The young are paler and
more mottled on both upper and under parts.

FALCONID/E.

327

Milvus mIgrans (Boddaert).

The term ‘ Black ’ is by no means inapplicable to this bird as
observed flying, when the dark under-surfaces of the wings and
the general sombre hue of the plumage are very noticeable ; the
tail is also much less forked than in the Red Kite. Although a
regular summer-visitor to the valleys of the Rhine and the Moselle,
and other districts of the Continent at no great distance from our
shores, yet the Black Kite has only once occurred in Great
Britain. This was an adult male, now in the Newcastle Museum,
which had been taken in a trap in the deer-park at Alnwick, and was
brought in a fresh state to Mr. John Hancock on May nth 1866.

In Scandinavia this species has not been obtained, but it
arrives on the southern side of the Baltic about the end of March,
and leaves again in September; while, on migration, it occurs
annually on Heligoland. Owing to its partiality for marshy forests,
open valleys and the vicinity of water, it is somewhat local in its
distribution ; but it breeds regularly, in suitable localities, in Germany,
Switzerland, and the southern half of France. In Spain it is very

THE BLACK KITE.

328

BLACK KITE.

abundant from the beginning of March until October, but it is not
numerous on the mainland and islands of Italy and in Greece,
though it is generally distributed over Central Europe and found in
Russia from Finland and the province of Archangel down to the
Caucasus and the Caspian Sea. East of the Ural Mountains the
representative species is M. tnelanotis , in India it is M. govinda ,
and in Egypt the resident bird is the yellow-billed M. icgyptius j but
the Black Kite appears to pass through the latter country on its
migrations, which extend to the south of Africa, and even to
Madagascar. It breeds, and probably remains throughout the year,
in Africa north of the Atlas, where it frequents more arid and rocky
districts than in Europe.

I he eggs, seldom laid before the beginning of May, are usually
2 in number, similar in appearance to those of the Red Kite, but
rather smaller. In Algeria the nest — made of materials similar to
those used by its congener — is frequently placed in a crag, particu-
larly one studded with bushes or shrub ; but in Europe towers,
ruins, and especially trees, even in populous towns like Pera, are
selected, and I have found ten or more nests in a small patch of
marshy wood. At Bayonne the Black Kite may be seen crossing the
streets, steering its way carefully among the telegraph wires, and
picking up from the river offal or small fish. The latter, which it
often devours while on the wing, form a favourite article of diet ;
reptiles, frogs, small birds and mammals are also consumed ; but
the bird is chiefly a scavenger and does little harm. I have seen it
feeding greedily on grasshoppers.

The adult has the head and throat whitish, streaked with black ;
upper parts dark brown ; under parts rufous-brown ; bill black.
Length about 22 in. The young bird is duller in colour, and the
upper feathers have pale edges.

An undoubted example of the American Swallow-tailed Kite,
Elanoides furcalus, was taken alive during a heavy thunderstorm,
near Hawes in Yorkshire, on September 6th 1805, but afterwards
made its escape. There is no other authentic record of the occur-
rence of this species in Great Britain, or in any part of Europe ; it
chiefly inhabits the tropical portions of America, and there is reason
to suppose that the bird in question had been in confinement.

I have examined an immature specimen of the little Black-winged
Kite, Elatius cceruleus, said to have been shot about 1862, in co
Meath ; but it was unrecognized for ten years, and the evidence is
not wholly satisfactory. The species is semi-tropical.

FALCONJ DJE

329

THE HONEY-BUZZARD.

P£rnis apivorus (Linnseus).

The Honey-Buzzard is a regular visitor for breeding purposes to
those wooded districts of Europe which lie between 430 N. lat. and
the Arctic circle. A certain number visit Great Britain in May and
June, and the fact that some remain to nest with us has been known
since the days of Willughby ; while, on the return passage in autumn,
examples, mostly young, have been obtained in England up to the
latter part of November ; and on the east coast of Scotland— accord-
ing to R. Gray — instances have even occurred in the depth of winter.
To Wales and the neighbouring side of England it rarely wanders,
but it has bred as far west as Herefordshire, and its nests have been
found at intervals in various counties, from Hampshire to Aberdeen-
shire. About i860 it was known that several pairs annually resorted
to the New Forest ; ^5 soon became the standard price which col-
lectors of ‘ British ’ specimens were willing to pay for a couple of
well-marked eggs ; and to these inducements were added such ex-
travagant sums as nearly ^40 for the pair of old birds. By about
1870 the birds which had not been killed were driven away; and if

33°

HONEY-BUZZARD.

any have since returned, the persons acquainted with the fact have
exercised a becoming reticence on the subject. To Ireland this
species is a very rare visitor.

In Norway the Honey-Buzzard does not range beyond the south-
eastern districts ; but in Sweden, Finland and Russia it extends its
migrations up to, and a little beyond, the Arctic circle. Southward
it is distributed throughout Europe during the summer, down to
Bulgaria, the northern portions of Italy, the Pyrenees, and the
mountain forests of the north of Spain ; but in the rest of the
Peninsula, and, in fact, throughout the Mediterranean region, it is
principally, if not entirely, a migrant. Very large flocks have been
observed traversing the Straits of Gibraltar from Morocco early in
May, and repassing in September ; but in Algeria, and eastward to
Egypt, it is of uncommon occurrence, though it has been obtained
in winter as far south as Natal and Madagascar. Nor is it abundant
in Arabia or Palestine, though numbers cross the Bosphorus to and
from Asia Minor. Eastward it can be traced through Turkestan and
Siberia to Northern China and Japan ; its representative in the
Indian region being the Crested Honey-Buzzard, P. ptilorhynchus.

The nest, usually placed upon the remains of that of some other
large bird, and often in the main fork of an oak or a beech, is well
lined, and sometimes sheltered, with fresh twigs and leaves of the
latter. The eggs, laid in June, are generally 2, sometimes 3, excep-
tionally 4 in number, and are round and glossy; their colour is creamy- j
white or buff, blotched and often deeply suffused with rich brown or
red: average measurements i'9 by 17 in. Both male and female
incubate, the sitting bird being regularly fed by the other. Wasps,
wild bees and their larvae form the principal food of this species
in summer, but other insects are also eaten, as are, occasionally,
birds, mice and other small mammals, slugs and worms. Owing
to the thickness of the foliage at the time of its visits, and the
fact that its prey is chiefly obtained on the ground, this species is by
no means conspicuous, except on passage. Its cry, seldom uttered,
is a shrill kee, kee, kee.

The adult male has the head ash-grey ; upper parts brown ; three
conspicuous blackish bars on the tail ; under parts white, barred
and spotted with brown on the breast. The female is slightly larger,
but has no grey on the head. Length from 22 to 25 in. The young
bird has a whitish head and pale edges to the upper feathers ; the
under parts being white streaked with brown : a dark brown form, ;
however, frequently occurs.

FALCON ID/E.

THE GREENLAND FALCON.

Falco candicans, J. F. Gmelin.

Considerable difference of opinion still exists respecting the
specific distinctness of the large Northern Falcons, for which some
systematists have adopted the genus Hicrofalco 3 but Mr. John
Hancock was the first to show that in the present species the pre-
vailing groutid-colour is white at all ages, whereby the Greenland
Falcon may always be distinguished from the Iceland Falcon, or
any other member of the group. For a long time all these members
were included under the title of * Gyr ’ Falcon ; it is therefore
impossible to say how many of the earlier records refer to the true
Greenland Falcon ; while some of the birds respecting the specific
identity of which there can be no doubt, are suspected of having
escaped from establishments devoted to falconry. There is, however,
ample evidence that wild examples of the Greenland Falcon have

332

GREENLAND FALCON.

from time to time been taken in the British Islands, in winter ;
naturally, with greater frequency in Scotland and the northern
districts of England than in the south, though an immature bird,
the subject of the present figure and now in the British Museum,
was shot in Pembrokeshire, and examples have been obtained in
Sussex and Cornwall. Ireland, as might be expected from its
geographical position, has not been unfavoured, and no fewer than
eight specimens were obtained at different points along the west
coast in the winter of 1883-4.

The Greenland Falcon breeds in the northern portion of the
country from which it takes its name, and Mr. Chichester Hart,
the naturalist to H.M.S. ‘ Discovery, ’ saw a pair nesting on Grinnell
Land, in 790 41' N. lat. ; while westward it can be traced to Alaska,
and across Bering Straits to the winter quarters of the ‘Vega' on
the Asiatic side ; and in spring to the Amur. The record is defec-
tive as regards Arctic Siberia, and no example has been obtained
from Novaya Zemlya, although this species occurs on Spitsbergen.
Turning to Europe, the difficulty of distinguishing the ‘Gyrs’
recorded on migration becomes extreme ; but undoubted examples
of the Greenland bird have been obtained as far south as the
French side of the Pyrenees.

The eggs, sometimes 4 in number, are pale reddish-orange in
ground-colour with darker mottlings and spots, measuring about 2-2
by 1 ‘8 in., and are placed on a bare ledge of rock, or on the old
nest of some other bird. This species is said to visit Iceland in
winter, though Mr. B. Grondal has never met with it there ; thence,
however, were brought the * white falcons,’ accepted as tribute or as
gifts worthy of royalty in the Middle Ages. The food consists of
Ptarmigan and Willow- Grouse, lemmings and other mammals; but
owing to the scarcity of prey in the high north, this species is
necessarily forced to migrate southward more often than its con-
geners.

The adult is white with blackish bars or blotches on the upper
parts, the under parts being pure white or only slightly spotted ;
but the individual variation is very great. In the first plumage the
markings are brownish and very broad above, but drop-shaped below,
the tail being more or less barred. The adult dress is assumed at
the first moult, and never varies afterwards. Length of the male
21 in. ; of the female 23 in. ; wing 15-16 in. Cere, legs and feet
pale yellow in the adult ; light bluish-grey in the young. In this,
as in all true Falcons, the irides are dark hazel — not yellow, as in
the Hawks.

FALCON ID/E.

333

THE ICELAND FALCON.

Falco islandus, J. F. Gmelin.

In the Iceland Falcon the prevailing colour is either brown or
grey, according as the bird is young or old. 1 he occurrences
of this species in the British Islands appear, so far as evidence goes,
to be less frequent than those of the Greenland Falcon ; but identi-
fied specimens have been obtained in several localities on the main-
land of Scotland, and in the Hebrides, including Skye and Islay;
also in Northumberland, Yorkshire, and on Herm in the Channel
Islands. In Ireland genuine examples have been captured in
Donegal, Antrim, and near Belmullet and Westport in co. Mayo
— the last in 1883.

The typical form of this Falcon inhabits Iceland, where it breeds
in the precipitous cliffs above the numerous lakes— especially near
My-vatn, whence the late W. Proctor of Durham used to receive
eggs and a few skins almost every year, after his visit to that locality.

334

ICELAND FALCON.

It also frequents the southern portion of Greenland, where a paler
form is distinguished by Mr. Sharpe as F holboelli. In Labrador
the representative species is a very dark brown bird, and easily
recognizable. 1 he fells of Norway and Sweden are occupied by a
smaller form, identical in pattern of plumage, but somewhat greyer
and darker with more defined moustache, and this Scandinavian bird
is the true F gytfalco of Linnaeus ; yet with immature examples, and
sometimes with adults, it is in many cases difficult to draw the line
of demarcation, and I have known an old female, shot from her nest
in a pine-tree on the Dovre-fjeld, pronounced to be a ‘ typical Ice-
lander’ by an eminent authority. In the collection of Mr. W.
Borrer is a bird shot in Sussex in January 1845, and originally
recorded by Mr. Ellman as immature, but which has been identified
by Mr. Gurney as a fully adult F gyrfa/co ; to this form, also, Mr.
Seebohm refers a young example obtained at Orford, Suffolk, in
October 1867. In Northern Siberia yet two more ‘species,’ which
are, in my opinion, identical with the Iceland form, have been dis-
tinguished by some of the Russian ornithologists; while in Alaska
the Grey Falcons have been referred by Mr. Gurney to F is/andus,
and subsequently to F. gyr/alco , or even to possible hybrids between
F gyrfalco and F. holboelli.

In Iceland the eggs, 3-4 in number, and similar in size and
appearance to those of the Greenland Falcon, are deposited on the
ledge of a cliff, or on the former abode of some other bird, fre-
quently a Raven ; in Norway, according to Prof. Collett, an old nest
in a tall fir-tree is generally selected ; while in Lapland most of the
eggs obtained by Wolley were from rocks. The food consists of
water-fowl and other birds — largely of various Arctic species of
Grouse, which are captured on the wing. All these Northern
Falcons were formerly esteemed for hawking, as they still are
by the Mongol races ; their style of flight is magnificent — much
swifter than that of the Peregrine — and both are deadly ‘ footers ’
(i.e. tenacious of grip), but they lack spirit and dash.

The adult is represented by the front figure in the engraving ;
the prevailing colour of the upper parts being brownish-grey on a
creamy ground, while the under parts are of a purer white; the bill
is horn-colour, the legs and feet are bluish. The young bird (in
the rear) is ashy-brown above, while the under parts are marked
with dark drop-shaped spots. Length of the female 25 in., of the
male 21 in. There is great individual variation; moreover the Ice-
land and the Greenland Falcons interbreed at times, and a remark-
able hybrid belonging to Col. E. Delme-Radcliffe is in my care.

FALCONIDiE.

335

THE PEREGRINE FALCON.

Falco PER.EGR.fNUS, Tunstall.

This fine species, the Falcon, par excellence , of those devoted to the
ancient sport of hawking, is still one of the most abundant of our
diurnal Accipitres ; and considerable numbers of immature birds,
technically known as Passage- or Red Hawks, annually occur
throughout our islands — especially on the eastern side between
autumn and the following spring. f rom some of its former
breeding-places it has undoubtedly been banished ; but eyries may
still be found — though many of them are yearly robbed from
Kent to Cornwall, and, more frequently, along the west coast and
in Wales ; while in the mountainous districts of the north of
England they are on inland-rocks as well as sea-cliffs. In Scot-
land, although much persecuted on account of its destructiveness
to game, the Peregrine is generally distributed throughout the

336

PEREGRINE FALCON.

mainland and the islands, as far as the Shetlands. In suitable
localities in Ireland it may be considered a common bird ; and
though, as a rule, each pair asserts its supremacy over a tolerably
wide area, yet eyries may there be found in proximity.

To the Faeroes the Peregrine is a rare visitor, and it does not
occur in Iceland, though it breeds regularly in Greenland up to
about 70° N. lat., and on Cumberland Island, across Davis Strait.
On the mainland of North America it is represented by F anatum ,
a closely-allied species with ruddier breast. In Europe it is found
from Scandinavia and Novaya Zemlya down to the Mediterranean ;
but in the basin of that sea our larger form is only known in winter ;
the residents being of a small race, F. punicus, and in North Africa
the still smaller red-naped F barbarus. Across Asia the Pere-
grine-allowing for sub-divisions which some authors consider
species— is found as far east as Kamschatka, the Kuril Islands,
and Japan ; in fact, under one form or another, it is met with
almost all over the world.

This Falcon never builds a nest for itself, but deposits its eggs,
usually in April, on some overhung ledge of a cliff covered with a
coating of earth, in which a hollow is scratched ; or on the old nest
of a Raven, Crow, Heron &c., in rocks or trees; also in church-
towers and steeples, and on the ground in Lapland and Siberia.
The eggs, 2-4 in number, vary from freckled orange-brown to
rich brick-red: average measurements 1-9 by 16 in. The same
spot is resorted to year after year, and should one of the birds
be killed the survivor soon finds another mate. The young are
driven away by their parents in August, and in autumn numbers
used to be captured on the moors near Valkenswaard in Holland,
for hawking. The Peregrine varies its diet according to locality
and individual taste ; preying on ducks, waders, sea-fowl, pigeons,
grouse, partridges, and even Kestrels, Choughs, Magpies, Jays &c. ;
while it sometimes sweeps rabbits off the side of a cliff. In many
districts it is known as the ‘ Hunting-Hawk,’ and, erroneously, as
the ‘ Gos-Hawk ’ ; by falconers the male is called the Tiercel
(corruptly Tassel), and the female the Falcon. The cry is a loud
and repeated hek, hek, hek.

Adult : crown, cheeks and moustache blackish ; upper parts
slate-grey (paler on the rump) with darker bars ; under parts buffish-
white to warm rufous, barred with a very variable amount of black :
cere and legs bright yellow. Length : male 15 in. ; female 19 in.
Young : upper feathers brown with buff margins ; under parts
ochreous, with dark brown streaks ; cere and legs livid.

FALCONIDAi.

337

THE HOBBY.

Falco subbuteo, Linnaeus.

The Hobby belongs to a group of Falcons ( Hypotriorchis of many
authors) characterized by remarkably long wings, comparatively short
tail, and soft plumage. It is a regular summer-visitor to the north
of Europe, arriving in England in small numbers about the latter
half of May : and at irregular intervals it has been found breeding
in most of the southern counties, especially in Hampshire ; at one
time with tolerable regularity in Essex ; less frequently in Cam-
bridgeshire and Suffolk ; not uncommonly in Norfolk and Lincoln-
shire ; occasionally in the midlands, and exceptionally in Yorkshire ;
while in Cornwall, Wales, and the west it is scarce. In Scotland it is
rare and has never been known to nest, though on migration it has
been taken as far north as Caithness and Sutherland. In Ireland
six examples have been obtained, five of them in May or June.

The Hobby has been recorded as far north as the Arctic circle
in Lapland, and in Russia it is found throughout the wooded
districts from 65° N. lat. down to the mouth of the Volga ; but
in no part of the Continent does it remain during the cold season.

D D

338

HOBBY.

South of Scandinavia it is generally distributed over Europe
to the Mediterranean, though most numerous from Bulgaria east-
ward ; it nests in the pine-woods in the extreme south of Spain,
and visits the Canaries, Morocco, Algeria and Egypt, though rare in
the last. From Asia Minor we trace its summer-range eastward to
Kamschatka, and southward to Cashmere ; while in winter it occurs
in China, North India, and South Africa down to Damara Land; in
the Indian region, however, the resident species is F sez'erus, and
in South Africa F. cuvieri.

The Hobby is a very late breeder, seldom having eggs before the
early part of June, and often not till the end of that month. It
never makes a nest for itself, but occupies one which has been built
in a tree by a Crow, Magpie, or other bird. The eggs, usually 3
and exceptionally 5 in number, are often yellowish-white, closely
freckled with rufous, and can then be easily distinguished from
those of the Kestrel ; but sometimes they are suffused with reddish-
brown and are therefore not so recognizable : average measure-
ments 1 '6 by 1 '25 in. Previous to laying, the female is much
addicted to brooding on an empty nest or upon eggs of the
Kestrel ; and careful observers, who were unaware of this fact, have
been led to believe that a nest from which the Hobby had been
seen to fly really belonged to that bird, when it did not. Although
it can seldom be kept in captivity for any length of time, I have
known an instance of one, taken as a nestling in 1849, which lived
for fifteen years. Dragonflies are a favourite food, and these, with
cockchafers and other insects, form its principal prey in summer; but
it also devours small birds. It is the terror of Swallows and Martins,
which its dash and rapidity of flight enable it to capture on the
wing ; Larks (for the pursuit of which it was used by falconers) are
especially subject to its harassing attacks in autumn, when it leaves
the woodlands and frequents the more open country ; and it will
also accompany sportsmen and seize Quails in front of them.

The adult has the upper parts dark slate-grey, with a black mous-
tache-like streak ; cheeks and throat white ; under parts buffish-white,
broadly striped with black ; vent and thighs rusty-red ; cere, orbits
and legs yellow. The sexes are alike in plumage, but the female is
less vivid in colour, though larger in size. Length: male 12m.;
female 14 in. The young bird has the crown of the head mottled
with buff, and a decided tinge of that colour on the cheeks and under
parts ; the upper feathers are brown, edged with ochreous-white, and
the tail has a broad pale tip ; while the vent and thighs are only
pale rufous.

FALCON IM.

339

THE RED-FOOTED FALCON.

Falco vespertInus, Linnaeus.

This small species, otherwise known as the Orange-legged
Hobby, is, like its predecessor, a summer-visitor to Europe ; in
the eastern portions of which it has an extensive northern range,
though in the west its appearance is irregular. Upwards of
twenty examples have been recorded in the British Islands since
1830, when its appearance was first noticed in Norfolk, where, up
to the present time, seven specimens have been obtained ; Suffolk,
Berks, Surrey, Kent, Sussex, Hants, Wilts, Devon, Cornwall, Den-
bighshire, Salop, Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland have
each been visited by it ; in Scotland one was shot in Aberdeenshire
in May 1866 ; and in Ireland another, now in the Dublin Museum,

d d 2

340

RED-FOOTED FALCON.

was taken in co. Wicklow during the summer of 1832. Most of
the authenticated occurrences have been in spring or summer, with
a few in autumn.

The Red-footed Falcon has been found in the south of Sweden,
and as far north as lat. 65° in Finland; while in Russia, below that
parallel, it is generally distributed, though Dr. Menzbier thinks that
it has only extended its migration to the northern provinces within
the last forty or fifty years. During the same period a gradual
diminution in its numbers — as a breeding species — has taken place
in the south ; where, especially near Odessa, immense flocks used to
arrive early in April and afterwards disperse, reuniting in autumn,
previous to departure. On the steppes of Orenburg this decrease
partially coincides with a remarkable immigration of the Lesser
Kestrel, previously a very rare bird there. The Red-footed Falcon
is found in Siberia as far as Krasnoiarsk ; but to the eastward our
bird is represented by F. amurensis , the adult male of which is
white beneath the wing instead of grey. On migration the Red-
footed Falcon is found in Asia Minor, Turkey, Greece, Malta and
Italy ; in the Danubian provinces and Hungary it breeds in con-
siderable numbers ; but westward it is only a straggler, and in Spain
it is rare. In winter it is found in Africa down to Damara Land.

In May or June this species appropriates the nest of a Crow,
Magpie or Rook, in which it deposits 4-6 eggs, of a yellower red
than those of the Kestrel and smaller in size : average measure-
ments 1 '45 by 1 t 5 in. Five or six nests so occupied may be
found in one tree; and in its general habits also this Falcon is
remarkably gregarious, numbers roosting close together. The food
consists chiefly of dragonflies, large moths, beetles, grasshoppers
and other insects ; also of lizards and field-mice. 1 he flight resem-
bles that of the Kestrel, and lacks the dash of that of the Hobby ;
the note is a clear, shrill ki, often repeated, especially towards even-
ing, at which time it usually seeks its prey.

The plumage of the male adult is nearly uniform lead-grey,
except the thighs, vent and under tail-coverts, which are rich chest-
nut ; under wing-coverts dark grey ; bill dark horn-colour ; cere,
orbits, legs and feet reddish; claws nearly white. Length n’S,

wing 9-7 in. In the female the head, nape and under parts are dull
chestnut ; upper parts ash-grey, barred with black on the mantle
and tail ; length 12 in., wing 10 in. The young bird resembles the
female, but the throat is whitish, and the rufous tint is less pro-
nounced; the under parts are streaked with brown, and the outer
tail-feathers are barred on both webs.

FALCONIDA£.

341

Falco ,£salon, Tunstall.

The Merlin, the least of the British Falcons, breeds annually on
our moorlands ; and though these are few and restricted in the
south, there can be little doubt that a few pairs nest on Exmoor,
while in many parts of Wales its nest has often been found.
Beyond Derbyshire it is generally distributed, in suitable localities,
up to the Shetlands, where it is common ; and in Ireland it is
tolerably frequent in the mountainous districts. In autumn it
descends to the low grounds, bays and coasts, where Snipe, Dunlins
and other waders, with small birds, form an abundant prey ; while
during the winter it is generally distributed throughout the British
Islands, but the examples then obtained are chiefly immature.

The Merlin is a resident in the Fseroes, but only a summer-
visitor to Iceland ; yet an example has been taken at sea not far
from the coast of Greenland, and one actually at Cape Farewell, in
May 1875. North America it is represented by F columbarius ,
with fewer bars on the tail — a figure of which appears to have been

THE MERLIN.

342

MERLIN.

given, in error, for that of the Old World species in Yarrell’s
‘ British Birds.’ In Scandinavia, where it arrives in April, the
Merlin is common in the northern districts until October ; and in
Russia it has been found as far as Novaya Zemlya, though in the
Ural Mountains it is not known to breed north of lat. 57° It
nests in Central Russia, the higher regions of Germany, the Alpine
districts of Central Europe, and the Pyrenees ; but elsewhere it is
only known on passage, and in winter ; the proportion of adults to
immature birds being unusually great in the basin of the Mediter-
ranean, from Spain to Greece. During the cold season it inhabits
North Africa and abounds in Egypt, its migrations extending to
Nubia and Sennaar. Eastward, it frequents the northern portions
of Asia in summer, wintering in Northern India and Southern
China.

In the British Islands the nesting-place is usually a mere hollow
scratched in the moorland, often in the side of a bank, and it is but
seldom that even a few twigs of heather are found as a border.
In the Fteroes, and also in the Pyrenees, ledges of precipitous
cliffs are resorted to ; while in Scandinavia frequently, and in
Scotland occasionally, an old nest of some other species, built in
a tree, is utilized. The eggs, laid in May, are 4-6 in number ;
their usual colour is deep reddish-brown or purplish-red, without
gloss : average measurements i‘5 by i-2 in. Mr. Booth says that he
has never known the Merlin take unfledged birds of any kind,
and although it has been asserted that its brood is fed with young
Grouse, its chief prey consists of Dunlins, Meadow-Pipits, Thrushes,
Larks &c. It has been seen in pursuit of a Swallow, whose rapid
evolutions it followed as if moved by the same impulse ; while by
falconers it was, and still is, used for flying at Larks ; in swiftness,
however, it does not approach the Hobby, or even the wild
Peregrine. Owing to its habit of perching on rocks, it is known
in some parts as the ‘ Stone Falcon.’

Adult male : crown and upper parts slate-blue, with black shaft-
streaks ; throat white ; nape and under parts rufous, striped with
dark brown ; tail bluish-grey, broadly banded with black near the
end and tipped with white ; cere, legs and feet yellow. Length
10 in.; wing 7-5 in. Female: upper parts dark liver-brown; tail-
feathers brown, crossed with five narrow paler bands and tipped
with white ; nape, cheeks and under parts dull white, streaked with
brown. Length 12 in. ; wing 8-5 in. Old females sometimes attain
the male plumage. The young resemble the female, but are more
rufous in tint.

FALCONID^R.

343

THE KESTREL.

Falco tinnl'NCULus, Linnaeus.

The Kestrel — also familiarly known as the Wind-hover, from its
habit of hanging almost motionless in air, against the wind is the
most abundant of the British birds of prey ; and would be still more
numerous than it is, but for its irrational persecution by persons
who ought to be aware that it feeds principally upon mice, and is,
therefore, one of the best friends of the agriculturist. It is generally
distributed throughout the United Kingdom ; but in Scotland, where
its harmlessness and utility are now recognized by the more intelli-
gent gamekeepers, it migrates, as a rule, from the northern districts
in winter; at which season its numbers in England are still further
increased by visitors from the Continent.

344

KESTREL.

To the Fseroes the Kestrel is only a wanderer, and it has not been
obtained in Iceland; but on September 27th 1887 a female was
shot near Nantucket, Massachusetts, and examined in the flesh by
Mr. C. B. Cory. In Scandinavia its eggs have been found even as
far north as lat. 68° ; but there, and in Finland, it is rare near the
limit of its range, while in Russia its occurrence at Archangel
is accidental ; throughout the rest of Europe, however, it is common,
migrating more or less from the northern districts in winter, but
residing during the entire year in the south. Nowhere is it more
abundant than in Spain, and swarms may be seen, especially
towards sunset, circling round the lofty church-towers of Cordova
and Seville ; while above the great plains watered by the Guadal-
quivir many hundreds are often visible at the same moment, alter-
nately hovering and dropping down on their prey, which there con-
sists principally of beetles. The Azores, Madeira, and Northern
Africa as far as Abyssinia, are inhabited by a slightly smaller and
darker race ; while southward, the range of the Kestrel extends to the
latitude of the Cape of Good Hope. In Asia it reaches from the
Mediterranean to the Pacific, and from Siberia to Burma ; the birds
inhabiting the northern portion being paler than those found in and
to the south of Japan. In America the representative species is
F. sparverins, an example of which is said, though on very incomplete
evidence, to have been shot in Yorkshire in May 1883.

The Kestrel seldom, if ever, builds a nest, but either makes use
of the former dwelling of a Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon &c., or else
deposits its eggs in cavities in cliffs, chalk-pits, quarries, buildings,
and hollow trees, or even on the ground. The well-known eggs,
often laid in April, and 4-6 in number, are yellowish-white, mottled,
or often deeply suffused, with brownish-red : average measurements
1 ‘6 by 1 '3 in. In northern countries mice form its chief food,
birds being seldom taken ; in the south it feeds largely on beetles,
grasshoppers and other insects. Its graceful flight and shrill cry
are too familiar to need description.

The adult male has the head, neck, lower back and tail bluish-
grey, the latter tipped with white below a broad black band ; back
pale chestnut, with small black spots ; under parts buff, streaked and
spotted with black ; cere, legs and feet yellow. Length 13 in. Ihe
female has the upper parts rufous, barred with black ; and, on the
tail, several narrow bands of black, with a broad one near the tip.
Very old hens partially assume the male plumage, and have more
or less blue on the rump and tail. Length 15 in. The young
resemble the female, but are somewhat lighter in colour.

FALCONID/E.

345

THE LESSER KESTREL.

Falco c£nchris, Naumann.

The claim of this small species to a place in the British list rests
upon two occurrences. An example, now in the York Museum,
was shot in the middle of November 1867 by Mr. John Harrison
of Wilstrop Hall, who noticed the bird flying about his farm ; and
in May 1877 an adult male, with one leg injured, was captured
alive near Dover, and presented by Mr. E. P. Robinson to the
Museum of that town, where I have examined it.

It will not appear so remarkable that the Lesser Kestrel should
•occasionally visit England, when we consider that it is a regular
migrant to Europe, and has been obtained in May on Heligoland ;
while it has twice occurred as far north as Anhalt, in Germany. It
is, however, a southern species, and the northern limit of its breeding-
range appears to be in Styria, where it arrives early in April, depart-
ing in August. To Savoy, and even to the south of France, it is
only an occasional visitor, and statements respecting its breeding on
this side of the Pyrenees require confirmation ; nor is it common on
the mainland of Italy, though abundant, and partially resident, in
■Sicily and some other islands of the Mediterranean. In the Spanish

346

LESSER KESTREL

Peninsula it is very numerous, especially in Andaluci'a, where a few
remain through the winter, though the majority arrive in February
and leave in October. In Greece and the south-east of Europe
it is common in summer, and since 1877 thousands have annually
invaded the Orenburg district, where, either as a consequence or
a coincidence, the Red-footed Falcon has become rare. East-
ward it is found as far as Bokhara, and a nearly allied species,

pekinensis , breeds in China and winters in India. Asia Minor,
Palestine, Egypt and North Africa are regularly visited by the Lesser
Kestrel in summer, while its migrations in the cold season extend
to Cape Colony.

No nest is built, but the eggs. are deposited in holes in cliffs, walls
or roofs of inhabited buildings as well as ruined towers, churches
&c., and sometimes in trees. Dr. Kriiper found a complete clutch
by the end of April in Greece, but my experience is that the middle
of May is the usual time for laying. The complement is 4-5,
exceptionally 7 ; the colour yellowish-white, mottled with reddish-
brown, much paler than in eggs of the Common Kestrel : average
measurements 1*4 by i‘i in. The food consists of insects, especially
cockchafers and other beetles, and grasshoppers ; the stairs and other
approaches to the towers frequented by this and the larger species
being often covered with an accumulation of wing-cases and ejected
pellets of indigestible matter ; small lizards are also eaten. The cry
has been syllabled as vev-ai, and also as psche, psch, psc/ie, wsche.

The Lesser Kestrel much resembles our common species, but is
smaller in size and has white claws. The male has no black spots
on the back, and the innermost secondaries are slate-grey instead
of chestnut. Length 12 in. ; wing pin. The female can only be
distinguished from the Kestrel by her smaller size and her white
claws ; length 13 in. ; wing p'3 in.

From the walls of the cathedral of Seville, I took an unusually
large hen bird off a clutch of much incubated eggs of the Common
Kestrel, and, rashly assuming that she was necessarily their rightful
owner, I hinted — in print — that the two species might possibly
interbreed. This was nearly twenty years ago, and I have regretted
it ever since, for there is no evidence that such is the case.

FALCONID^E.

347

THE OSPREY.

PandIon haliaetus (Linnaeus).

The Osprey is not uncommon as a visitor to the sea-shores and
inland waters of our islands, especially in autumn ; and no fewer
than ten were recorded between the Tyne and the Thames in the
months of September and October 1881 ; but the majority of these
visitors are immature birds, some of which remain on our coasts
until the beginning of June. Estuaries are favourite haunts, and
in those of Sussex and Hants it is known as the Mullet-Hawk,
owing to its partiality for that fish. Tradition states that it formerly
bred on the south coast of England, and according to Heysham it
did so near Ullswater until the end of the last century ; in Galloway
there were at least two eyries up to about i860, but at the present
day those which are known to exist in Scotland are confined to the
Highlands, where their safety depends upon protection and secresy.
To the Hebrides, Orkneys and Shetlands, the Osprey is only an
accidental visitor ; while in Ireland, where it occurs on migration, it
has never been known to breed, although many of the inland waters
appear to be suited to its habits.

This species does not occur in Iceland or Greenland, though very

348

OSPREY.

abundant in North America; while it is so generally distributed
southwards to x\ustralia and northwards again to Japan, that it may
almost be termed cosmopolitan. In Europe it breeds — either .
in forests near lakes, or on sea-cliffs, as in the Mediterranean — from
Lapland to Spain, and eastward to Greece and Southern Russia ; as
is also the case along the coast of North Africa to the Red Sea, and
in suitable localities throughout Asia. Its distribution is, in fact,
restricted by two conditions only : the bird must always be near
waters inhabited by fish which swim sufficiently near the surface to
supply it with food, and the close proximity of man is a decided
objection.

The nest is a bulky structure of sticks, sometimes mixed with turf ; 1
and on the top is a small cavity lined with moss, for the reception of
the eggs. These, 2-3 in number, are often very beautiful, having
the ground-colour of white or buff, with rich blotches of chestnut-
red or claret-colour, and underlying blurs of purplish-grey : average
measurements 2^5 by i'8 in. In the northern hemisphere they are
usually laid towards the end of April or early in May. In wooded
districts trees are generally preferred, and Mr. Booth says that all the
nests he has recently visited in the Highlands have been in Scotch-
firs ; but formerly rocky islets in lochs, and ruined castles, were much
in vogue. In North America the Osprey is gregarious, and as
many as three hundred pairs have been seen nesting on one small
island. Until taught caution by molestation, it is a very unsuspicious
bird, and every one who has read St. John’s ‘Tour in Sutherland,’ \
must be aware of the ease with which it can be butchered at its
breeding-place. The food consists entirely of fish, upon which the
bird plunges, often from a considerable height, and which it bears
away in its claws ; these are remarkably curved and sharp, the
outer toe being reversible and the soles of the feet very rough.

The adult male has the head and nape white, streaked with brown; (
upper plumage umber, with a purplish tinge ; under parts white, with
a band of brown spots across the breast ; cere, legs, and toes
greenish-blue. Length 22 in. ; w-ing 19 in. The female is larger, <
and more marked with brown on the breast. Length 24 in. ; wing •
21 in. The young bird has pale edges to the upper feathers and
the tail is distinctly barred. The adult plumage is not attained
until the third or fourth year. The irides are yellow in young
and old.

PELECANIDJR.

349

THE COMMON CORMORANT.

Phalacrocorax carbo (Linnteus).

The Great, or Black Cormorant, as it is sometimes called, to dis-
tinguish it from the Green Cormorant or Shag, is found in con-
siderable numbers along the greater part of the British coast,
except between the Thames and the Plumber ; while from Flam-
borough northward to Caithness it is more abundant than its
congener. In the Shetlands, Orkneys, Hebrides, and along the
open coast of the western side of Scotland, it is, as a rule, in a
minority : and the same may be said of W ales, the south coast
of England, the Channel Islands, and some parts of Ireland. On
the other hand, the Cormorant has many nesting-places inland;
notably the bold rock near Towyn known as Craig-y-deryn, Castle
Martyr in co. Cork, and Lough Attymas in co. Mayo.

This species is found in the Freroes, Iceland, and Greenland up

35°

COMMON CORMORANT.

to about 70° N. lat. ; while over Europe it is generally distributed,
and breeding-colonies are to be found in situations as widely different
in character as lofty cliffs, the swampy meres of Holland, and the
inundated forests of the valley of the Danube. With the exception
of the high north it is found all over Asia, where it usually nests on
trees ; in Australia and New Zealand we find a doubtfully distinct
form, P. novcE-hol land ice ; and even in South Africa our bird is said
to have occurred, while it is common in the north of that continent.
In America it inhabits the Atlantic coast from Hudson Bay to New
Jersey, but it has not yet been noticed on the Pacific side.

The nest is a large structure composed of sticks and long coarse
grass, mixed, when near the coast, with masses of sea-weed ; the
eggs, laid in this country in the latter half of April or in May, and
usually 3, but sometimes as many as 6 in number, are oblong, rough
in texture, and have a pale blue under-shell incrusted with chalky-
white : average measurements 275 by 16 in. Many birds usually
congregate at the same breeding-places, which, as already indicated,
are to be found on high cliffs, low islets, swamps, bushes and trees. In
1882 a pair hatched two young in the Zoological Gardens, Regent's
Park ; and it was then observed that after the male had been fed
and retained the fish for about an hour, he mounted the side of
the nest and opened his capacious mouth, which the young bird
entered as far as its outstretched wings would allow, and helped
itself to the macerated food in the old one’s crop. The parents
had been trained by Capt. F. H. Salvin for catching fish, a sport
pursued in this country in the time of the Stuart sovereigns ; while,
as a business, it has been followed in China and Japan from time
immemorial.

The adult has the upper head and neck black, with many hair-
like white feathers ; those on the occiput being elongated and forming
a crest in spring ; throat white ; gular pouch yellow ; mantle bronze-
brown and black ; quills, and tail of fourteen feathers, black; under
parts rich bluish-black, except a white patch on the thigh, assumed
very early in spring and lost in summer ; irides emerald-green. The
sexes are alike in plumage, but the female has the longer crest
and is brighter in colour as well as larger in size. Length about
36 in. ; wing i4-5 in. The young bird is dark brown above; dull
white mottled with pale wood-brown below ; irides brown the first
year, then pale bluish-green, changing to emerald at the end of the
second year. Varieties exhibiting tendencies to albinism, and even
pure white birds with light-coloured bills and feet, have been
recorded.

PET.ECANID/E.

35 1

THE SHAG, OR GREEN CORMORANT.

Phalacr6corax graculus (Linnaeus).

The Shag, also known as the Scart, Scarf, or Crested Cormorant,
may be distinguished from the preceding species by its smaller size,
and, when adult, by its prevailing green colour; while the crest-
assumed in spring, and not shown in the illustration, which is taken
from a bird in winter-plumage — is tuft-shaped and curved forwards.
The young, not so easily recognized on the wing, may always be dis-
tinguished on examination by the tail-feathers, which, in this species,
are only twelve in number. The Shag is essentially marine, and
seldom wanders inland, or to fresh water ; its favourite haunts being
rugged coasts honeycombed with caves, or islands margined with
fallen rocks and large boulders, amongst which it often makes its
nest. In such situations — which predominate on the west coast of
Scotland and in its islands, and along a great extent of Ireland, as
well as in Wales and the west of England — it is, on the whole, more
abundant than the Cormorant ; but it is well to remember that by
fishermen and seaside folk the trivial names are frequently inter-
changed, while the term ‘Diver’ is sometimes applied to both
birds.

352

SHAG, OR GREEN CORMORANT.

Westward of Iceland the Shag has not yet been found, and,
although it is common in the Faeroes and on the coast of Norway,
it is scarcely known to enter the Baltic, and is rare on the German
shores of the North Sea. It breeds in the Channel Islands, and along
the north-west and west coasts of France ; also on the Atlantic
coast of Spain, Portugal, and Morocco ; while a somewhat brighter
form, found throughout the Mediterranean and known as P. des-
maresti, does not appear to me to be distinct.

The nest, formed of sea-weed and grass, matted and plastered
together and emitting a horribly foetid smell, is often placed in cliffs
or among fallen rocks and large boulders ; but frequently it is on
a ledge near the roof of a cave, and so far in that the sitting bird
can scarcely be discerned amidst the gloom and spray-mist. The
eggs — like those of the Cormorant in colour and texture, but
smaller, and more variable in shape — are from 3-5 in number, and
are usually laid during May ; though Mr. Ussher h

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